As I stated before, we get all hyped up and excited about doing something spectacular and defying the odds, getting on the dean’s list, becoming more social, joining clubs to enhance our characteristics, and such. I recently learned that doing these things head-on with no increments or self-control can quickly lead you to burnout. That burnout can become depressed, and you find yourself looking up at this dim light that used to shine so brightly before you became overwhelmed. It’s an easy solution but hard to practice, and I say that because I’m still practicing. The key to burnout is to know your limit. There is nothing wrong with testing the waters, and if you believe it, you can achieve it and realize that you need breaks. You may be like me, a person that needs set schedules and times for certain events. You may have to turn off your availability after a certain time to achieve what you need. I noticed that my burnouts happen when I miss an assignment when I get a terrible grade or external factors. I did not limit myself to be exposed to. In the midst of my burnout, I kept thinking back to how I got here when I had this great momentum at the beginning. Where did it go? Did it leave because I failed an assignment? Or was it because I was going through something with a boyfriend? Did I argue with a friend? “A family member passed away from covid.” “I can’t go out and experience things like I used to do to COVID.” It’s stressful, and these things take a toll on our mental health and our academic success, but the thing is, we have ways to get out of that as well. Talking to a counselor at school or friends, doing some self-care, or heading to the academic success center for extra help.
There are options to hop over school burnouts, and I am trying to provide preventative measures rather than reactionary measures. You can do this, we can do this, and we WILL do this.
