Burn Out

You’re Not Lazy or Not Locked In, You Might Just Be Burnt Out

By Shahaana Gasnola

Do you stay awake at night wondering why you just can’t commit yourself to your studies, or curse yourself for how hard it is to even get up and do your homework? You have all these goals, expectations and responsibilities weighing on you, and yet it feels as if you can’t muster up the energy to even think about them.

The only thing that feels right is to let an endless stream of distractions consume your time: doomscrolling, binge-watching TV shows or movies, or spending time doing anything and everything that takes your attention away from reality. It feels like a relief in the moment, but it introduces you to an even crueler awakening when you realise it’s too late to start flipping through the pages of your textbook.

You have wasted all your precious time, and it feels as though you did so willingly. All that’s left to do is loathe yourself and wish you were smarter, more capable or more hardworking.

The thing is, you were probably set up for defeat before you even realised it, and it’s definitely not because you are incapable.

Burnout is a state of extreme physical and/or mental exhaustion. Although it is not a medically diagnosable condition, it is a recognised phenomenon that helps people understand when and why they may be struggling under stressful conditions.

Enough with the boring facts that anyone can Google. The main thing I want to shed light on is why burnout happens and how you, as a student, can deal with it.

Burnout can happen because of prolonged stress or difficult emotions that go unchecked for a long time. That day you decided to bottle something up instead of letting it out to a friend, or that time you didn’t ask for help because you were afraid – those little moments can pile up, even if they don’t seem like a big deal at the time.

That’s why burnout can be so dangerous: most of the time, you don’t expect it or see it coming. In the days leading up to the breakdown, you may feel like you’re on top of everything and that you can keep going with the all-nighters while constantly neglecting to check in with yourself.

Until one day, you’ll be driving home or simply have a quiet moment to yourself, and you’ll feel so tired.
Not just the tiredness that comes from needing sleep, but a tiredness that lingers throughout your entire day, even if you had the best night of slumber.

When you’re in this state, it can feel as if you’re just a lazy teenager who doesn’t have enough discipline to soldier on. But the only way to move past this point is to help yourself, not combat yourself.
Even if you aren’t facing burnout right now, doing these small things can help prevent it in the first place.

1. Stop treating your time as if it is running away from you

You don’t need to rush through things just so you can feel productive, and you don’t need to treat everything like a priority. Plan your time so that you can spread your responsibilities across smaller tasks that you can manage each day.

2. Rest is a need, not a luxury

Please do not skip out on those precious hours of sleep while you guzzle down Red Bulls or Monsters just to keep yourself awake at 3 a.m.

Treat your rest as an absolute essential that cannot be compromised. Give yourself a day, or even just a few hours, when you can do things you enjoy guilt-free.

3. Your friends are your lifeline

Spend time with people who help alleviate the stresses of life simply by being around you. Whether you’re having a laugh or receiving a shoulder to cry on, your friendships are one of your most vital support systems, and you should put effort into maintaining them.

4. NEVER compare yourself to others

Comparing your unfiltered life to another person’s life – where you only get to see what they want you to see – can be incredibly damaging.

Your achievements and the progress you’ve made do not dwindle or become less impressive when you compare them to someone else’s. You can appreciate the beauty of a rose without taking away from the beauty of a sunflower.

5. Take time to get to know yourself

We all think we know ourselves through our aesthetics, our niches and the music taste we may or may not have gotten from TikTok.

But you should still take the time to question your beliefs and opinions without the input of other people. When you spend time exploring things on your own, you discover so many things you might never have otherwise known about yourself.

The one thing I would really like to emphasise going into this exam season, coming from someone people usually go to for academic advice, is this: be kinder to yourself.

I’ve spent countless nights feeling overwhelmed, questioning what the point of all of this even is and contemplating whether I should just drop out and get a job at McDonald’s or something. (I’m just joking – you kind of need a matric certificate for that.)

In all seriousness, why be harsh on the only person who is actually going to be there for you no matter what? Why be harsh on the person who is going to have to put in the work to get you somewhere in life?

You are the only person you will always have.

So treat yourself the way you would treat someone you care deeply about.