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By Quinn Blair-Heim
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Most people will say that they have been burnt out at least once in their life. Adults constantly warn us about it. But what really happens when you burn out, and what can we do to prevent it?
Burnout is a huge problem in America today, specifically in schools. It negatively impacts the mental health, motivation, work ethic, and social lives of students. Burnout is brought on by large amounts of stress during a person’s life, often debilitating the person under stress. After asking students from all over Kenmore West, we found a few common causes of burnout.
Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the most common cause of burnout at Kenmore West is school itself. Right below that is specifically homework, and in third is drama, or the social lives of students. These three causes are not the only ones, but they are the biggest at Ken West.
School is stressful on a good day. From getting to class on time, to doing work correctly and understanding what you’re learning, to remembering assignments and lessons after school is over. Even once the school day has ended, it tends to follow you through the rest of the day. The same thing applies to homework. It can be difficult to remember or understand, it’s not always easy to complete, and it tends to pile up, especially for students with big workloads. Finally, social lives are hard to maintain, and school doesn’t help. Sometimes you won’t have classes with your friends, and you’ll drift apart. Sometimes you aren’t interested in the same things, or you won’t befriend the same people. Even with these added barriers, pushing a large group of teenagers together and expecting them all to get along is a big ask, and it almost never works out. We all have different opinions and beliefs, and they can contradict each other. The result is almost always drama, which is, of course, stressful.
The problem is that a lot of these issues don’t have easy solutions. School is stressful and sometimes difficult, but it is important to learn from the classes you’re taking. The discussion on whether or not homework is beneficial is an important one, but it does have positives. If done right, homework can help you review and strengthen what you already know, while helping you understand easier what you just learned. But that kind of homework isn’t usually the problem. Humans are social by nature, and there’s no way to get around that fact. We like to socialize and be around other people most of the time, so avoiding drama is basically impossible. All this to say, if there are no real solutions to what’s causing people stress, then why bother? There’s no way to fix things, so what can we really do except stick it out and suffer?
But that isn’t true either. There are things that you as an individual can do to prevent burnout from occurring, and if nothing else, to help minimize its effects. A lot of students have found ways to help themselves recover and reset. Like taking naps, listening to music, taking a break from school and watching something, hanging out with friends, taking a day off, or even taking an ice bath. All of these activities replenish energy and allow students to bring their attention away from their stressors. Once you find something that works for you, not only will these practices minimize how often you experience burnout, they will help you cope with other problems that may be affecting your mental health, like anxiety or depression.
What is concerning, though, is the opposite reaction to burnout. Some students have a hard time coping and would rather do nothing about it and just wait for their burnout to fade. I found that this response was best summarized by 8th grader Misha Lamotte, who said, “Nothing, I wait for it to fade. I don't have time between school and home stuff to really figure out what helps.” This response is normal, and unfortunately common. Most people don’t know how to deal with burnout, creating longer-lasting mental health problems.
Students agree unanimously that burnout is a big problem for people's mental and physical health. “I think burnout is a problem for students today because it affects our ability to function properly. Many people may become less active or present if they feel too burnt out to do something, as it can be very draining dealing with constant stress/anxiety,” said Willow Czerwinski, 9th grader. Similar sentiments were expressed by senior Emma Wistner, who said, “Yes, there’s so much to do and not enough time. For kids involved in a lot of clubs/social events that have a lot on their academic plate, it’s very difficult to do everything you want to do. There’s also the whole element of FOMO that is intensified by the usage of social media.”
A lot of problems that cause burnout are also caused by burnout. It’s a cycle that can be incredibly hard to break. For example, if a student is overwhelmed by too much homework, they may experience burnout. However, this burnout will prevent them from doing homework, making them even more stressed out, leading to a more overwhelming feeling, and so on. Until a student figures out how to break the cycle, there’s no telling how long it will take to escape constant burnout, leading to worsening mental health and dropping grades or interest in activities.
62.8% of students polled said that they are burnt out 5 or more times a school year, at the minimum. 32.6% said that their burnout lasts 5 or more days. Underneath those statistics, only 18.6% of students said that they experienced burnout around 3 times a year, with 23.3% saying that their burnout lasts somewhere between 2 and 3 days. Only one person said that they experience burnout only once a year.
Finally, I asked students what they think can be done to prevent burnout from becoming a constant in the lives of every student. One of 8th grader Annabelle Cotterman’s solutions was “Mental-health days or the option of homework passes (maybe one or two each term for each class) so if you need a break or are overwhelmed by work you can at least get one piece of homework out of the way.” Willow Czerwinski proposed that we can, “stop burnout from becoming a constant in people’s lives by having more opportunities to have time for ourselves so we can keep a balance between work/stress and relaxation. There are of course many different ways to do this, it simply depends on what the person prefers.” Junior Emily Aronica said, “I think reducing workload without decreasing the materials being learned would be very helpful to keep kids motivated. And making failure less frowned upon.” Obviously, there isn’t one solution. There might never be. Burnout is difficult to understand, and even harder to prevent and get rid of. The best thing we can do is be understanding and help others with their struggles as best as we can.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, burnout-related or not, it’s important to tell someone. Below are a few mental health websites and numbers that can help you improve your mental health and get the assistance you may need.
Mental Health Resources:
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