Have you ever felt like your academic performance is dropping lately? Have you ever felt physically and emotionally fatigued that you are unable to focus? Do you feel like not having any motivation to do anything?
There is a chance that you are experiencing burnout! Burnout is a condition when a person is unable to focus on doing their task due to being uninterested or distracted. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is not recognized as a medical condition. However, it is classified as an occupational phenomenon.
Burnout can affect people differently. Two of the most common situations are study burnout and job burnouts. The first one affects students and the latter one mainly affects adults in the working environment.
How do I know if I’m having a Burnout?
There are multiple ways to self-assess to identify if one is having burnout because the signs are quite obvious. The signs are as follow;
1. No motivation
2. Constant feeling of fatigueness
3. Sudden drop in performance
How do I deal with burnout?
As any other problems, burnout is also solvable. The main key to deal with burnout is to take a break. Taking a break is a very general term for many and questions such as “What do I do when having a break?” will be asked. Well, no need to worry because in this article, we have listed to you 3 of the things you can do while taking a break.
1. Get something to eat
The king of chefs and the chefs of kings, a title given to a famous french culinary artist, Auguste Escoffier, once said “La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur” which translates to good food is the foundation of genuine happiness. Here are some of our suggestions.
Nuts are some of the easiest food to get. You can find it in most grocery stores with multiple choices of them. Each of them provides multiple nutrients for our daily lives but mainly they are a good source of protein. Nuts are crunchy and earthy, suitable to be added with other foods to enhance the taste. Based on the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA), an average person needs to consume around 140 grams of protein daily with a bit of variation to age and gender. Consuming a handful of nuts would fill about ⅕ of the daily recommended protein recommendation. Some of the best nuts for protein are dry-roasted peanuts and pistachios as well as almonds. If you are feeling a bit adventurous you can try and mix them up.
Chocolates. What could go wrong with eating chocolates? Rebecca Scritchfield quoted that chocolates with a high percentage of cocoa are better. There are many types of chocolates, some having higher cocoa to sugar ratio and vice versa. Examples of these chocolates are dark chocolate which has a high cocoa to sugar ratio meanwhile milk chocolate contains less cocoa to sugar ratio. In order to gain the most nutrients that are provided by the cocoa. Chocolates contain anandamide, a type of neurotransmitter which binds to certain receptors in the brain and as a result inducing happiness, serotonin, an antidepressant that helps elevate one’s mood as well as stimulate endorphins, a chemical in charge of inducing the feeling of pleasure to the brain. All of these will surely help one to reduce the burden from feeling burnout as well as give a boost of motivation and energy to help accomplish a certain task.
2. Do some exercise
The only bad workout is the workout you didn't do. Honestly, have you ever heard someone say exercises are bad? Many people agree that exercise gives you a lot of benefits. Not only that, a lot of scientific studies have also proven that exercise gives a lot of benefits. A study by the University of British Columbia found that aerobic exercise, the one that makes you sweat and your heart pumping, enhances the growth of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that helps in learning and verbal memory.
Other than that, the American Psychological Association (APA), also supports that exercises help in boosting mood. However, specific research in determining the mechanism that helps in these mood enhancement is still underway. A lot of research also states that exercise helps patients having depression cure and prevent them from relapsing. One of the researches is from James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University.
From all of the research, we can conclude that exercise really does help in enhancing one’s mood that is especially helpful for those facing burnouts. Not only that, exercise also keeps the body healthy and fit which is also an added bonus.
3. Get some sleep
Did you know that one should at least get 7-8 hours of sleep everyday? How many hours do you spend everyday sleeping? Having an appropriate amount of sleep is exceptionally important. Missing out on these hours may cause sleep deprivation. Side effects that come when you are having sleep deprivation are trouble thinking and concentrating, mood changes as well as weakened immunity. That explains a lot why some people may experience burnout because they do not have a stable emotional, mental and physical state for them to think rationally which leads to poor decision making.
Therefore, it is undoubtedly important to have enough rest and sleep. If you are one of the people who have sleep deprivation, seek help from others, especially professionals. This is because in some cases, you might have insomnia, a sleep disorder that will affect you from falling asleep. There are medical prescriptions for this disorder and you can get it from your local health specialist.
A good night's sleep will surely make you feel more refreshed and set you up in a good mood. During these times, you will be able to think thoroughly and make the best decision. Your burnout might be cured instantly as you gain new energy and motivation to continue where you have left behind. In the end, having enough sleep and rest is essential to everyone in order to maintain a healthy body and mind.
“Your biggest commitment must always be to yourself”
Holistically, we hope you are able to identify and cure yourself from getting burnout. Burnout should be taken seriously so it does not affect your current performance and sabotage your future. If you need help, there are always people around you that will be able to provide you with the support and the love you need. Learn to love yourself and see the best version of yourself.
If you have trouble finding others that can help you, you can always try to contact the ECLIPSE welfare bureau. They are friendly people who are willing to listen to your troubles.
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