How students can beat burnout as finals loom

“At the moment I am lying on a desk in Wilson and trying not to cry. And I am not the only one,” political science junior Annika Bucchin said. 

Bucchin is correct in thinking she isn't the only one. As the semester draws to a close, assignments, papers, projects and exams are stacking up and lots of students may be feeling overwhelmed. 

At its most basic level, burnout is defined by the German-American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger “as a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by one's professional life,” according to scientificamerican.com.In the early 1970s, Freudenberger ran one psychology practice in New York City’s Upper East Side.

Freudenberger worked as an addiction counselor on the Bowery, where he would see patients outside with a lit cigarette in their hands and simply watch it burn out, according to npr.org. His personal experience and symptoms of burnout ultimately led Freudenberger to coin the term “burnout.” 

While this is all great and interesting, understanding the specific signs of burnout, how to prevent them and if it is too late and how to recover from academic burnout may be the start to fighting burnout. To answer these questions, the Exponent spoke with Amy Lincoln, the director of the Office of the Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success (AYCSS). 

Lincoln defines burnout in a way that is easier to recognize. “One way to think about it is when you don't feel like there's any access to sparking your motivation. And when you're there, that would be burnout.”

Some typical early symptoms that students should look out for in themselves and their peers include: “feeling exhausted, lack of motivation, being irritable, feeling like you've lost your confidence and not being able to meet deadlines,” Lincoln said. 

An important note is that these symptoms can manifest themselves in your physical well-being. “It can be unhealthy, meaning like you have runny noses or headaches and some of those [symptoms],” Lincoln said. 

As college students, burnout seems to be unavoidable and mitigating the symptoms of burnout can be very difficult. “College is designed in a way that you can hardly avoid it. Because of deadlines and schedules and trying to juggle the social, emotional, academic, professional, and work-related things in everyone's lives.” Lincoln said. 

Assistant Director of Outreach and Prevention of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) at MSU Laura Thum commented on the topic. “One common area is the expectations we have for ourselves that often come from expectations of others. Wanting to achieve perfection or avoid making mistakes often sets a very high bar that is impossible to meet.”

“Learning how to be ok with being “good enough” rather than perfect is a helpful strategy to reduce stress and expectations,” she said. 

MSU students had quite a few things to say about their academic burnout and spoke to the Exponent about how they chose to handle it. 

Political science senior Blake Klostermyer is currently experiencing some academic burnout but said she uses her support system to cope. “I plug into a really good community. I think it's really easy to get burnt out if all the people you are talking to are the exact same age and at the exact same stage of life. It's important to surround yourself with people from different lived experiences to get a different perspective,” she said. 

For many students of MSU, ski season, or the current lack thereof, is contributing to their academic burnout as they are missing an outlet for their stress. “I have been biking but every single day I think about skiing and I get upset that I can't ski,” political science student Garrett Wright said.

Sophomore studying cell biology and neuroscience Madalyn Ziegler agreed. “The anticipation of ski season plays a crucial role in my mental well-being. Knowing I have those moments to look forward to helps me push myself through my academics.”

Combating academic burnout can be a challenging topic to approach, as it is easy to simply put your head down and just get it done. However, it is important to prioritize your mental health over your academic performance. “Strategies for managing stress can be very basic. Prioritizing sleep and getting the correct amount of sleep is critical, feeding yourself healthy, regular meals, taking breaks to connect with friends, tending to daily tasks and moving your body all can help with managing the signs and symptoms of stress,” Thum said.

Lincoln said a key factor in mitigating burnout is to intentionally plan ahead and to take a holistic outlook on wellness. “An easy way to think about it is to do assignments when they're assigned and not when they're due. That way you gain all the control and flexibility over when and how it gets done.”  

In order to avoid mid-semester and end-of-semester burnout, students must take a broad view of their wellness before the mid-semester scaries ensue. This goes hand-in-hand with intentional planning, she said. “This doesn't always mean that you're able to eat perfectly, get nine hours of sleep, have a great academic balance, meet all your deadlines. We can't do that,” Lincoln said. 

Taking a broad outlook on wellness means taking action in order to feel less stressed and overwhelmed. Lincoln said this could look like going for a short walk around the block, cleaning up your space at home or throwing a healthy snack in your bag before classes. “Taking action is really important. Getting stuck doesn't help us get out of burnout,” Lincoln said. 

Thum said that Taking action is one of the best ways to overcome procrastination and symptoms of burnout. “Often when we’re feeling maxed out and overwhelmed there is a pull to drop everything and completely avoid, or a pull to dig in and not let yourself do anything but the task that is looming.” 

Self-care was a topic both Lincoln and Thum spoke on in regard to managing burnout. “Taking some positive steps to self-care and wellness is really important. It might mean five minutes of deep breathing. Because that might be all you have time for,” Lincoln said.

Thum also encouraged scheduling various forms of self-care throughout the week. “However, be warned, we can also use engaging in self-care as a form of procrastination. So be sure you are taking care of yourself but in a boundaried way,” she said.

“Try to remember your “why” for being in school. Refocusing on the overarching reason you are in school or studying what you are studying can be a way to refocus your motivation and intention as you slog through challenging or less interesting coursework,” Thum said. 

Lincoln recommends stopping into the AYCSS in SUB 177 for help before burnout becomes too severe. Their office is full of resources that can help students navigate the symptoms of burnout, such as success advisors, career coaches, financial coaches and peer tutoring and mentoring.

CPS, on the second floor of the Swingle building, is also an excellent resource for struggling students.  

Study hard ‘Cats, but remember to take some time for yourself during these final weeks of school.