Kailey Krantz | Staff Writer
Being dedicated to your studies is one of the most praised traits of a college student. Unfortunately, the flame of determination we begin with dwindles as the semester continues due to student burnout.
Student burnout is when students struggle to complete their academic tasks because they lose interest in the monotony of completing assignments day in and day out. This is a problem that can tear down even the most determined students on campus and can drastically affect their chances of success.
Signs of student burnout can range from working on assignments until you’re at your very limit, to combusting and crying as the frustration spills over. Simply put, it’s when we reach the point where we can’t work anymore without jeopardizing our mental health.
Stress and anxiety are two major signs of student burnout emerging which could lead to being disinterested in completing assignments because there is no sense of reward at the end of the tunnel.
In other words, there is no satisfaction in completing assignments because there’s another one waiting on the Canvas To-Do list.
It’s dangerously normalized that students go through academic burnout, especially as we get closer to accomplishing our degrees, but that shouldn’t be the case.
As midterms creep closer, it is easier to fall victim to academic burnout. In cases like these, we’re left with less than half of the energy than when we started the semester and are slogging to the finish line.
It is an endless cycle of turning in assignments early and working on the weekends when I should be having breaks and disassociating from my academic life.
66% percent of U.S. college students said they felt stress during the previous spring semester. That is more than half of the student population that encounters many stressors throughout the semester, making it harder to regain the motivation to keep going.
The suffocating pressure that students must either keep up with previous excellent work they have done or surpass expectations. It’s no wonder burnout students evade failure and avoid not living up to those expectations.
College is only one chapter in a student’s life, so why are we subject to experiencing constant pressure and anxiety?
But every time we focus on avoiding failure, the more we stray further from achieving our goals. If we embrace failure in our studies and assignments, then we could work our way to reduce that pressure and lower the chances of experiencing student burnout.
Don’t let yourself reach that breaking point. Prioritize your mental health by planning times in your schedule to turn your brain off and do relaxing activities that make you happy.
Student burnout should not be taken lightly and, more importantly, should not be normalized to see on a regular basis. Students need to be more aware of the signs of burnout and prioritize their well being over academics.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
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