College students face a ton of pressure. Whether you are a student-athlete or someone that is involved in many clubs and extracurriculars, balancing school and the rest of your life can feel extremely stressful.
According to the article, “Stress vs. Burnout: Addressing Burnout Among College Students” written by Jerry Kosmin, it states that college burnout develops when “a student experiences chronic stress over an extended period of time.” These symptoms include detachment, feeling tired or fatigued, and an overall lack of interest in their studies.
Going to college is stressful enough as it is most students’ first time living away from home. So, learning to adjust and making new friends, all on top of schoolwork, can become super overwhelming.
Personally, I believe that college students are in danger of burnout due to the overall stress of moving and going away to college, along with the fact that they have schoolwork on top of it. I feel as if now, teachers assign busy work that is unnecessary for the student to do. This “busy” work can get in the way of schoolwork that actually matters. When this happens, students can feel as if they must accomplish all their work before it is actually due.
I also believe that pressure from parents can cause college students to be in danger of burnout. I think this is because students need to make sure that they are living up to their parents’ expectations, so they have unnecessary stress upon themselves.
Furthermore, I believe that I have experienced burnout in college, leaving me to struggle in my classes. Last semester, I put pressure on myself that made me feel like if I did not get good grades, I was a failure; this was obviously not true. Along with this, I wanted to make sure that I was making my parents proud because I didn’t want to let them down. So, by the end of the semester, I felt tired and overwhelmed, leading to what I believe was the start of my burnout.
I think that there is a way for college students to avoid burnout or even get out of the burnout when they feel it starting. The best thing that worked for me was talking to people about feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Additionally, I have learned that it is important to take my assignments one at a time, meaning that I don’t start an assignment until the one I have already started is finished. This has helped me focus on my schoolwork more and not feel burned out. I also believe that if students take time to relax for a while, the danger of being in burnout will become less likely.
