By Will MacDonald
“Tough times never last, but tough people do”
As with most college students, I have kept myself very busy throughout my whole college career. After all four years… I. AM. TIRED! It is harder than before to focus on my future goals, much less school work. I find myself overly stressed and easily tired out after finishing just a couple of assignments. It is difficult to relax with all the work on my mind and yet I can’t stop procrastinating. I get so easily sucked into my phone and other distractions that it’s a struggle to even start my work. Some may call this phase, senior burnout.
According to psychologytoday.com (Sussex Publishers, n.d.), burnout is defined as “a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.” Signs of burnout can be cynicism, depression, dread of work, emptiness, and hopelessness. There may even be some physical repercussions such as tiredness, headaches, heartburn, and stomach problems.
It is not your fault if you are experiencing senior burnout, like me. School and jobs can demand a lot from us so it is easy to be overworked for so long without even noticing it. You may put off things that you like doing thinking that your workload will be temporary. You work from the morning until late at night knowing what you are doing is good for your future. Then one day you can wake up and even the feeling of doing any work can send you into a paralyzing spiral of stress. The worst part is that since you are paralyzed and putting off work, you become even more stressed! It might even seem hopeless to try to fix your situation because that would require time and energy that you do not have. However, I promise you that there is a treatment for burnout and it is easier than you might think.
As I was faced with burnout, I looked into ways that could help me overcome it through positive psychology. I have done half the work of researching so that you can deal with the easy half, applying positive psychology principles. Although there may be many ways of treating burnout, my research has led me to three specific principles: engaged living, mindfulness, and purpose.
Simply put, engaged living is taking actions towards your values (Warren, n.d.). A principle of engaged living is experiential avoidance, which is the idea that we naturally run from potentially dangerous or painful things. This may manifest in avoiding doing homework because it can be uncomfortable to feel bored or focus for too long (Warren, n.d.). The first step in overcoming experiential avoidance requires you to be vulnerable with yourself about your feelings and weaknesses. It can be hard to admit that “I am burnt out” because you might know that school is necessary to move you towards your values in life. After you are vulnerable with yourself, it allows you to make room for uncomfortable feelings instead of running away from them. The next step is to have courage to take action. In this case, even though I know doing homework might bore me and it can be hard to focus, I accept these truths and have the courage to start my work anyway. Finally, one must practice psychological flexibility, which is the ability to be present regardless of unpleasant thoughts, feelings, or sensations and continue making valued based actions.
Psychological flexibility is more than just putting your head down and getting to work. It is a skill that you can learn overtime. I learned how to become more flexible through practicing mindfulness. Simply put, it is a similar concept as psychological flexibility, expect you do not have to have a goal in mind as you practice it (Warren, n.d.). As I practice courage by taking the step of doing my work, I know I am going to hit a mental wall that I can’t push past. At these times, I stop to meditate on mindfulness. I would invite you to go to the mindfulness module to learn how to mindfully meditate. As I have practiced mindfulness, there are three tenets I keep in mind as I meditate that have helped me with my burnout. First is acceptance; I accept that doing work is harder than normal, and that's the way things are right now. Next is kindness; as I struggle to focus, I recognize that I am not incapable of doing work, but I am struggling for this short period. Finally, letting go; I need to let go of the need to push away negative feelings like stress and mental fatigue. As I keep these things in mind during my meditation, I am able to bring the mental wall down on it’s own. I usually practice mindfulness with the pomodoro studying strategy. I set a timer for 45 minutes and do as much work as possible. After the timer, I meditate for 10 minutes. If you feel uncomfortable meditating in public like I do sometimes, then try putting your headphones on practice mindfulness with your eyes open.
The last principle that has helped me deal with burnout is purpose. Psychologytoday.com (Sussex Publishers, n.d.) points out that lacking a purpose in your work can lead to burnout and having a purpose in your work can help cure burnout. Having an overarching purpose in life can make work more meaningful and valuable (Warren, n.d.). Some assignments may be hard to relate to your purpose, like how is learning about European history going to help me fulfill my purpose to help others or become a great dad? It is important to remember that even small steps can help move you towards your values and purpose. I know that by completing this history course I will be able to graduate, which will get me to graduate school where I can expand my talents in order to help others. Of course, it may be hard to always think about that big picture stuff. To help with that, try making a vision board or purpose statement somewhere where you do work often. Look at your vision board or purpose statement when you start to feel the burnout kicking. Remind yourself how what you are currently doing can relate to your purpose.
This may come as a shock to you, but even after doing all these things, I sometimes still feel burnout. But thats ok! Overcoming burnout is a process that takes time to work through. I also recognize that my remedy might not work for everyone. But if you are hesitating because some of this makes you feel uncomfortable, then I strongly suggest you at least try it out, because I felt the same way too. Keep going, remember to take meaningful breaks (other than just your phone), and be patient with yourself!
“Staying motivated is an art that requires finding inspiration in both triumphs and challenges, sustaining a passion for growth. ”
References
Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Burnout. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/burnout
Warren, J., & Shearer, J. (n.d.). What is mindfulness? My Best Self 101. https://www.mybestself101.org/what-is-mindfulness