Burn Baby Burn

Aside from being a series of racing games released in the early 2000s, burnout is an incredibly fun and not at all debilitating thing we humans experience from time to time. 

And if I’m being honest, I’m in the midst of it right now. I’m willing to bet many of you are, too. 

It’s not surprising, the world is fucking scary, and things seem so hopeless right now. Rent and food are now a seemingly constant worry, and that’s on top of our studies. Studying just feels like a chore overall. It’s hard to remember why we even started this sometimes. I’m in my fourth year of study, having begun right at the start of a seemingly unstoppable and constantly evolving global pandemic. 

In short: things are kinda bonkers, and not in a fun Dizzie Rascal kinda way.  

At a point, everything gets a bit much, and that’s the time where our mind and body decide to add more to our ever-growing plate in the form of depression, anxiety, brain fog, and overall fatigue. Then, you’re caught in a repeating cycle of not sleeping ‘cause you’re worried, growing evermore worried ‘cause you’re not sleeping, and so on. 

At the time of writing, I’ve spent the last few days battling with my own mental health, finding myself unable to do anything except sit before my telly and play Doom. While I’ve been doing that, the pile of work I’ve had sitting there isn’t going away. It’s taken me a while to reach this conclusion, but ultimately that pile of work can just sit there. 

If we don’t take the time to look after ourselves, our bodies will make that time for us. 

You can work yourself so hard to the point where you’re just unable to go on. You’ve burnt yourself out and have nothing left to give. The number of times I’ve gotten sick due to all-nighters is astounding. Not to mention, the permanent state of sleep deprivation many of us get in. When we don’t stop and say “okay, now is the time for me to rest,” our bodies end up deciding when rest time is. And usually, that forced rest feels awful. It can leave you bed ridden, depressed, angry at the world, wondering if study is even worth it anymore. 

My current state isn’t voluntary, it’s a result of pushing myself without taking a real break, one where I wasn’t stressing about uni work or substituting break time to do other things I’d consider “more productive”. As a quick sidenote, not considering rest time as productive is silly, it’s one of the most productive things we can do for ourselves. 

As students it feels like we’re constantly in crunch time. Once a deadline’s done, another rears its head. It feels like there’s no time for us to have… well, time for US. 

Life is hard, studying just adds to that. Not to mention, the need for income means many of us are working on top of study. When the hell are we meant to rest? Finding time for ourselves can lead to us being up at three in the morning because we NEED that personal time to do nothing except rest and relax. Which then leads to getting over tired and yada yada yada. 

This might all sound like a huge downer. Take it more as a sign to rest when you can, and properly rest. Just because you’re studying in bed and drinking a hot chocolate doesn’t mean you’re resting. Turn off study, push out the uni thoughts as best as you possibly can. It can be hard to do that, and you may even feel guilty for doing so, but as people, we NEED that time away from our work. 

It’s the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself. It’s also so beneficial for your loved ones, too. Our friends and family don’t want to see us run ourselves into the ground or be left bedridden ‘cause of how hard we’re working, or so exhausted that all we can do is cry. They want us to thrive, just as much as we want to get our degrees done so we can go make big money in our respective fields. 

If you’re struggling with your work, don’t be afraid to tell your lecturers, they want you to succeed. Talk to your friends and family about how hard you’re finding it, they might drop some nuggets of wisdom you didn’t expect.  

Heck, if you and your friends, flatties, halls of residence buddies, or classmates are all in the same boat, why not relax together? Organise a chill hangout, have a book sharing day, go see a movie, play games, take a lovely walk, anything away from the thoughts of uni and study! Even just an hour of time for rest and relaxation can make a difference.  

It’s only natural to get absolutely exhausted from time to time. Burnout is nothing to be ashamed about, everyone experiences it from time to time. It’s just a bump in the road, not a pitfall. As Thomas Wayne said in Batman Begins, we fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up. We get exhausted so we can learn to look after ourselves. 

End of the day, your health, mental and physical, is the priority here. Assignments can take a backseat while you let yourself feel better. It might not feel productive at first, but rest is the single most productive thing you can do for your body.  

So, if you all don’t mind, now that this article is done, I’m going to eat soup and play Doom.