Mario Meouchi | Staff Writer
Have you been feeling overwhelmed? It may be time for you to take a step back and appreciate all the diligence it took for you to get where you are. With the current exam period, it isn’t hard to imagine that many of the hard-working students may feel the overwhelming effects of burnout. People usually feel burned out after a long exposure to stressful events and tasks, such as sitting for exams and all the studying that it takes. What exactly is burnout? How can we prevent it?
Burnout is a combination of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion that follows strenuous activities and tasks, especially if it involves stress. It is most noticeable when we simply feel like we have no energy, even if we’re not physically tired. We just feel like staying in bed, playing video games, watching series, or simply doing nothing all day. We merely want to disengage from everything until we recharge, and thus we detach from whatever we’re doing (in this case, most likely studying).
Self-esteem has been shown to correlate with a tendency to feel burned out negatively. People with low self-esteem tend to be more inclined to feel burned out, especially when a big emphasis is put on academic performance.
A high workload comes in the form of having to cram too many tasks in too short a time, and it leads to depleted energy levels and subsequently being burned out. Although some have better capacities for managing high workloads, not everyone is like that. Think of your mental energy as being money and doing tasks as costs. If you spend too much money too quickly, you’ll end up broke. Pace yourself and don’t cram; you’ll thank yourself later.
Reward, on the other hand, has been known to reenergize people, especially in the form of appropriate rewards. Studying a lot may put plenty of strain on a student, but getting a grade that they can feel proud of and that reflects all of their work is an amazing motivator to keep going. Of course, rewards should be appropriate, as putting in that much effort for too little of a reward will demotivate the person. The reward given must be proportional to the time and energy it takes to get it, and thus, being well rewarded should come after hard work.
Being connected with your community also helps you prevent burnout, as that may be perceived as social support. The more people we know we can rely on during our times of rest and weakness, the easier it is for us to recover. There is no shame in seeking support from others; friends and family will be glad that you trust them by opening up to them, and they will reciprocate the friendly gesture by helping you out. In extreme cases, it would even be wise to seek professional help, such as from your university’s counseling center where professionals are trained to help people with that exact problem.
It isn’t a surprise that taking breaks also prevents burnout, as we can take a step back and decompress. It may be a day out with some friends, going to watch a movie, taking a stroll at your local park, playing video games, or even just sleeping all day—anything really, as long as it’s something you like. Taking breaks can be considered a method of self-care. Break time actually makes you win more time than if you simply risked getting burned out, given that burnout is associated with a decrease in efficiency and performance.
Stress is known to be associated with negative behaviors and outcomes. It may come from anything, like your classes, exams, job, extracurricular activities, study time, etc. Coping mechanisms that manage and deal with stress are quite important, as when they reduce stress, they reduce the likelihood of getting burned out.
Being burnt out isn’t fun. In the pursuit of doing more work, you end up feeling so tired that you simply can’t do any more of it. This feeling persists for so long that you end up losing more time than if you had not rushed yourself. Things like stress and high workloads usually positively correlate with burnout, whereas coping mechanisms, breaks, appropriate rewards, and social support negatively correlate with burnout. Take your time; life isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Pace yourself, or you might find yourself behind.
Sources:
Olwage, D., & Mostert, K. (2014). Predictors of student burnout and engagement among university students. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 24(4), 342–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2014.978087
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Jacobs, S. R., & Dodd, D. K. (2003). Student burnout as a function of personality, social support, and workload. Journal of College Student Development, 44(3), 291–303. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2003.0028