As we all know this year has been nothing as we expected it to be from zoom class, COVID-19 tests, mounds of homework and feeling burned out.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, burnout is defined as a state of being in which a person feels exhausted and empty. Stemming from a stressful lifestyle and being put under extreme pressure.
It’s no surprise that there are a few students feeling burned out from all the work being tacked on to their schedule and having to stare at computer screens for hours on end for class lectures, then homework.
In the last month of the semester, a time to review everything you’ve forgotten over the past three months to prepare for finals is a time in which feeling burnout is most prevalent and the stress is at an all-time high.
There are ways, a few students have found, that help them when they are feeling the burn and need something to help them recharge in order to continue working hard.
For Alex Hart, who is majoring in pre-pharmacy, when she is feeling burned out from all the homework she tends to clean the space around her. Hart has OCD and ADHD and from time to time her cleaning ‘just happens’, but in the end, she realizes it has helped her unwind.
“Just the other day,” Hart said. “I took apart the futon I have in my room and put it back together, just because of how much stress I had.”
Physical activity of any kind, even a simple walk or working on a project non-academic wise, can help ease the strain school work creates. Another method of easing strain is through the use of animals.
It is known that animals can have a wondrous effect on the mind when individuals are stressed, under pressure or going through burnout. Animals have a playful manner that can help distract the mind for a while.
Devin Bearer, majoring in music and entertainment, has a cat as an emotional support animal and frequently puts off her work to find comfort in her furry friend when things are starting to become too much for her.
“My cat is a great help,” Bearer said. “She’s there to help calm me down when I get a little too emotional from all my homework and everything.”
Not only does Bearer find some piece in playing with her cat but so does her suitemate Lucy. Lucy Arbannas, majoring in pre-optometry, enjoys having a cat wandering around their rooms as she is doing homework, it brings a calming presence.
“I also will listen to music sometimes,” Arbannas said. “But watching a Disney or Marvel movie definitely helps the most and my go to!”
There are multiple methods students use to ease their stress and help pull them back out of their burnout. However, a couple of students don’t take breaks, deciding to stick with their work knowing they can finish what they started.
Nathan Hard, majoring in welding, is one student who doesn’t rest when the going gets tough, and instead, he pushes through his burnout to get to the end.
“I was just grown up with it,” Hard said. “To push through the hard time and the work done.”
Hard is from a country lifestyle where there is hard work on the daily and if you give up or become distracted, the work doesn’t get done in the right amount of time. Coming to Ferris he had the same mindset, it has worked for him ever since and only takes mental breaks when meeting up with friends.
No matter what method is used to help ease the burnout caused from school, it is always important to take time for yourself and recharge to come back to your workload better so better results can be attained. The better your mind is, the mental state of your being, the better your performance in all you do.
-BN