Burnout…Students Struggle

This Article was written for my final in my Journalism class, it is an Immersive Piece about the very real and raw reality of being burnt out in school and life. I chose this at a time that I was quite burnt out, and I was looking for solace, as a means to help myself, I figured I could not be the only one going through it at the time. This does cover some mature themes; reader discretion is advised.

Burnout…
Students Struggle
By Kiarra Driscoll
MAY 3 2023
*
I take the days one at a time, going hour by hour, but lately, there has been no differentiation or feeling of progression. Everything has blended into one moment, a moment of nothingness, a moment blank. Motivation no longer riles me up to succeed or convinces me to do more; instead, it just remains dormant.

There is no sense of passion, no sense of accomplishment. I know I have come far, but at what price? The years I spent pushing myself forward to my highest potential have faded, the flame that once ignited me has almost null. I knew I was subject to burnout due to the years of constantly moving and never giving any time to breathe.

The American College Health Association is a research survey recognized nationally regarding college students and their well-being.

Last fall, it was reported that 86.9% of the overall surveyed
population experienced high levels of stress regarding their
academics, and 66.3% experienced high levels of stress due
to procrastination. Trans/non-gender conforming individuals and women
had higher rates. Said The American College Health
Association.
*

I focused so much on my accomplishments, being a large part of my identity, that it eventually became it until I had no idea who I was anymore and no sense of purpose.

Sometimes I feel alone. I am trying to focus on one little spark to push through these last few weeks, but the light succumbs to the darkest depths of my brain. I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t know why I am pushing myself past my limits.

Welcoming this feeling of isolation so much as it starts to intertwine with the state of my overall mental health. Depression and burnout make for an ongoing war, a war that my armor made of bronze fails endlessly, but it’s shiny, and it looks well-suited.

Bronze, the metal that once signified lords and gods, and a sense of good standing, yet the weakest of all there was to choose from to guard me. I realize I’m not alone; others have felt this or are feeling this.

I know many students are present at this moment with me. One being Jack Packsoy, a student in his third year here at UNC Asheville. He reassured me I wasn’t alone.
**

“I understand, spring of my freshman year, it was spring 2021. I had never felt anything like that. It was the semester I failed. It’s this school’s fault. They gave us no breaks, except maybe a day each month. Spring break was only three days. I tried pushing through.”

Packsoy graduated during the pandemic’s peak; he had no in-person graduation and never got the chance to say bye to his friends. Coming into his freshman year at UNCA, he faced the struggle of transitioning from high school to university life and coming back to in-person classes
After a year of being remote.

It had been one of, if not the worst, semesters of his academic career. He barely got any sleep and sank into a deep depression. When this happened, he tried his hardest to do one good thing for himself just so he could continue.
*
I am curious as to what I can do and why this is happening to me, or why it happens at all. I’ve heard that it’s not just students struggling with such a feeling, but professors.

“I just read a whole book on burnout last year, I am there with you. A lot of it, I think, is that we give ourselves way more crap than we can actually deal with,” William Revere, Ph.D., an UNCA English professor, said.

A constant hunger for relief consumes me, the air suddenly suffocates me, and my eyes slowly turn blank. My sense of humanity ceases to exist. Instead, I try to go through the motions, hoping for the gasp of fresh air and that mental cleansing, yet I feel like a robot.

My life experiences seem like I am watching through someone else’s lens and see myself in the third person. Desperate for comfort, I reach for anything to bring a feeling. I reach for the joint or the bottle of liquor. Healthy? No, not by any means, but better than being numb.

I sought help, knowing the path I was taking was not a good one, but I wanted a different point of view, different from the mental health professionals always going deeper than they needed to. The person to hear me was Student Success Specialist Gabi Granillo, who was there to guide and listen to me rather than trying to fix me.

I asked why this feeling occurred, where it came from, and what I could have done to prevent it.
***
“Burnout is different for everyone. Overloading yourself is a start to it, and people don’t realize that you’re not just doing one thing. You’re not just going to school. You are living your life, and it’s hard for people to associate that,” Gabi Granillo said.

Granillo has seen various students come into her office with the common issue of feeling burned out. Many are not burnt out as a result of academics but rather as a mix of everything, work, relationships, school, family life, etc.

“It is not just something you experience in your school years. It is a very real thing that can affect anyone. It affects your work life and your relationships. It is so much more than academics,” Granillo said.

The sense of feeling overwhelmed is what causes downward spirals. In life, there are many things one comes across. The trick is to learn that balance, as anything can set it off. Having kids, struggling with finances, having a negative relationship with themselves, or simply working all day
contribute to this disastrous feeling, a feeling that seems infinite.

“Everybody experiences something different. When I was a student, my burnout looked like ignoring self-care. For many, that includes eating. Students will forget to eat because of the stress,” Granillo said.
**
Packsoy didn’t think he would return to school, much less continue to graduate. No matter the progress he made from that one semester, he still struggles with repeating it every day, pushing himself further through his degree because he is so close to the finish line.

“I get really high, like wildly high. But the best thing you can do is look out for yourself, make sure you are getting a full 8 hours of sleep, and eat and hydrate,” Packsoy said.

He also practiced rewarding himself with something small to keep up his motivation. After he does one thing, he treats himself to another. One of the biggest issues with burnout is time management. However, burnout is not indefinite.

“You’ll be alright, there are plenty of sources out there for burnout, and you can look at some historical texts, seeing how they’re tired and how they hate work. There are so many options to help us,” Packsoy said.
***
Getting through differs for many people a lot depending on where the student stands academically and where they stand mentally. As each student is different, there are different solutions and preventions put in place. Taking a break is one of the best solutions not discussed
often.

“If a student is already on academic warning, and they’re like, I’m still struggling. I recommend that they take a semester break. There is no shame in that, and a lot of people need it”, said Granillo.

Sometimes you need a mental break to succeed or achieve your version of success. Not everyone is meant to be here at that time during their lives. Step one is ensuring your mental health stays in check, Granillo said.

“If you want to continue learning and pushing through, you can go through community college and get some credits, then come back when you’re ready,” she said.