Coping with Burnout
story by Leanne Bick, photos by Andy Rios, and design by Ileana Rea Martinez
Another match fizzles out in a dorm room. It casts the space in darkness and triggers a loss of student motivation: Burnout. It leaves a smoky scent in the air, singes nose hairs, and gives the urge to flee. Students blow on smoldering matches, but the wicks refuse to relight. How does one find the will to pick an essay back up after the motivation has dwindled?
From a lack of motivation to exhaustion and irritability, burnout can manifest in a variety of different forms. It is easy to view burnout as simply a dwindling engagement with academics with no deeper emotional relation, but burnout is truly the bigger problem of an individual's balance being thrown off. PULSE spoke with CWU students to see how burnout is going against the grain of their grooves, and what they do to combat this unfortunate foe.
Helpful Hobbies
Emanuel Sanchez, a sophomore art and education major, encountered burnout when external work began to feel overwhelming. Sleep became a hobby, and motivation all but a light in the distance. Focus was no longer like a friend, and attempting to rekindle that relationship made life feel a lot more complicated.
Leila Brecon, a food science and nutrition major, worked during the quarter and during breaks. The nonstop work ethic took its toll, and the thought of classes became a dread as the quarter neared.
Self care was waning for Sanchez and exhaustion was sweeping up Brecon. Fortunately, they each found solutions that worked for them. Brecon intentionally took days off to do whatever she pleased. Sanchez suggests to all individuals with rooms turned to clutter by burnout to use cleaning as a “fresh start.” He also turns to his hobbies for guidance. He picked up his crochet hook and a hefty bundle of yarn and got to work. Taking valued time to himself, finding peace through arts and crafts, much like Ashley Ayling, a professional and creative writing major who found that lanyard crafting was helpful to dispel burnout-driven headaches.
Timely Transitions
When transitioning to college, the only expectations most students know are the ways of high school. College can come as a shellshock. New academic expectations, new routines and new people; incoming students should know that no one expects them to go into college knowing exactly how it functions. The transition is a time of learning and finding the right fit for you.
Film major Tasia Tran says she wasn’t too serious about her studies back in high school, and once college started she began juggling more than she ever had. She had an overloaded schedule, was involved with her hall council, and worriedly watched the reins of her classes slip from her grasp. But she found a solution. She built her schedule with the perfect ratio of school and work in mind. She took time to recognize her strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly she surrounded herself with bright and positive people.
Kaiya Uieda, an entrepreneurship major, started college off with five courses and soon was overwhelmed by assignments. Home was an unresolved longing, and making new friends was a struggle, but steadily Uieda began to surround herself with things she enjoyed and removed toxic things like social media. She visited her family and reconnected with old friends, despite the physical distance separating them. Finding friends was initially difficult, but she eventually found her people.
Outside Influences
Elliot Madison, a piano performance major, faced burnout during familial difficulties. During this time he worked incredibly hard to rebuild his drive for college by interacting more with his community, developing stronger relationships with his family and finding encouraging friends who enriched his life. With help from others, Madison was able to overcome this hurdle.
Ace Larkin, an English secondary education major, encounters burnout when their ADHD flares beyond what is usually manageable. ADHD comes with its own unique set of challenges; Larkin describes working on assignments as swimming along perfectly fine, and then suddenly coming upon a roadblock that doesn’t easily budge. They found that removing themselves from the cause of the burnout for a while had its benefits.
Ash Moore, an English education major, says that since a life shift at home, burnout has been burdensome. Senior year was especially hard for them, and home was greatly missed. Listening to heavy metal, going to live shows and exercising at the rec center eases her tension.
A Major Change
Natalie Yellowlees is an elementary education major who decided to switch over from psychology. During her time as a psychology major, the coursework was more manageable. When Yellowlees made the switch to elementary education, however, a giant stack of assignments plummeted into her arms.
The process of burnout feels like a slow descent to her. At times, Yellowlees feels as though some of her classes expect to be treated as the only one she is taking, but despite the heavy course load, she ensures she finds time for herself, exercise, the outdoors and friends. Two ways she accomplishes this are by utilizing the recreation center’s cycling classes, and pushing social media to the backburner.
Not Alone
Burnout can make hope feel nonexistent. It can make life seem monotonous and lonely, because you are the only one knowing exactly what you are thinking and feeling, but there are others in the same boat. It is difficult to see burnout, and it is easy to mistake the isolating emotion as your fault. But burnout is more common than one’s tired mind may think. By sharing burnout experiences, we can see the true cures for burnout: community and self care.
Students most often see their inner lights burning brighter amongst friends and when they remove themselves from the cause of burnout, even just for a little while. Taking a break from homework, focusing on their hobbies and exercise can all be great solutions to try out.
Burnout is a burden, there is no doubt. But the nice thing about fire– you can always relight the flame.
