Pre-Health Prep Series: Student Burnout & Self-Care

We are nearing the end of what has been a strange and stressful semester. Many students have felt the weight of this trying year as they navigated virtual classes, tried to keep up with when to attend face-to-face components of hybrid classes, voted in a presidential election, engaged in conversations about social justice, oh yeah...and dealt with the challenges of living during a pandemic that has gripped the world over the past year. Pre-health students have had the added complication of trying to find replacements for traditional shadowing, trying to find ways to safely volunteer, and, in some cases, working on the front lines alongside healthcare providers battling the virus in our community. With so much to do and so much uncertainty, it is easy to get overwhelmed and to start feeling the effects of burnout.

So, what exactly is burnout?

Burnout is a state of total exhaustion (emotional, mental, and physical) caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Being a little bit stressed out during college is normal, but when that stress is pervasive and sustained over a long period of time and you are unable to manage it successfully because you are just too overwhelmed, that's when you cross into burnout territory. Reaching a state of burnout causes you to lose interest or motivation in pursing your career goals because they feel impossible. Individual symptoms of burnout vary, but some of the common symptoms include extreme exhaustion/fatigue, depression, negative feelings about yourself, and an inability to attend to necessary tasks. These emotions and mental blocks make you less productive by siphoning away your energy and leaving you to feel helpless and often hopeless or even resentful of your situation. If such feelings begin to dominate every day of your life, then you could be experiencing more than the typical college stress--you could be experiencing full-fledged burnout. 

Here are some of the warning signs of burnout that may go overlooked:

Mental Signs:

• Making careless mistakes that you wouldn't normally make
• Lacking opinions during classroom discussions
• Lacking ideas or opinions related to group projects
• Feeling incapable of making deadlines
• Losing motivation to continue working on assignments or studying
• Losing confidence in your abilities as a student

Physical Signs:

• Not sleeping well or constantly feeling exhausted despite getting sleep
• Habitually stress eating or forgetting to eat (or loss of appetite)
• Overthinking and catastrophizing situations
• Frequently indulging in habits that you know are bad for your health 
• Not noticing pain or tension in your body from working or constantly thinking about work
• Frequent headaches or dizzy spells
• Ocular migraines
• Finding yourself to be sick more often than usual with colds, stomach issues, etc.

Emotional Signs:

• Finding yourself to be uncharacteristically sensitive to small issues that arise
• Not being able to enjoy leisure activities (or not letting yourself have down time)
• Not being able to enjoy time spent with friends/family because you are stuck in your own head
• Constantly feeling bored or uninterested in things you once enjoyed
• Uncharacteristically lashing out at others out of frustration

Here are some things you can do to deal with burnout:

• Recognize that you have the signs of burnout and acknowledge that you need help
• Ignoring burnout will only make it worse!
• Understanding yourself and your current state is the first step
• When you know what you are dealing with, it is easier to manage!
• Talk to someone--start with a close friend or family member or maybe an advisor
• Ask if they've noticed any recent behavioral changes in you
• Discuss what is causing you stress and what you are doing to manage that stress
• Decide whether it would be good for you to talk to a professional counselor
• Remember that as a student, you can see one of our counselors for free
• Counselors can help you identify and manage your stressors
• Counselors have many tools and resources to help you move forward
• Learn coping strategies for managing your stress in healthy ways
  
• Physical activities can be good outlets 
• Engaging in your hobbies can help you get out of your own head
• Checking-in with friends/family can keep you feeling connected
• Prioritize your well-being by starting a self-care routine
• Remember that you can't control all of the things impacting you, but that you can control how you respond to those things
• Learn to recognize when you aren't acting like yourself
• Think about what motivates you to keep going when things get difficult
• Apologize to people if you lash out or say something hurtful out of frustration

Here are some things you can do to prevent burnout:

• Work on your organization and time management skills (even if you already think you are good at these things, there are always ways to improve)
• Maintain a planner or digital calendar that has all of your assignment due dates, exam dates, and study sessions scheduled well in advance
• Schedule specific times for studying each week and treat those plans as you would a class
• Make checklists and prioritize the most important tasks over those that can wait a bit
• Break your long-term goals and responsibilities into smaller, more manageable tasks 
• Create S.M.A.R.T. goals that you can reach in shorter time frames
• Start assignments and projects early instead of waiting until the last minute
• Study your notes from class periodically throughout the week instead of waiting until you are about to have an exam
• Celebrate reaching your short-term goals or checking things off of your to-do list
• Acknowledge your achievements and reward yourself for them
• Maintain good physical health
• Make good choices about what you eat
• Take vitamins as needed
• Take any medications as prescribed
• Get in a little bit of stretching/breathing exercises each day
• Get in some physical activity each day
• See a doctor annually for a check-up
• Maintain good emotional/mental health
• Give yourself permission to relax each day
• Engage in activities that you enjoy and try not to worry about work when you do them
• Spend time with people that you care about who add joy to your life
• Meditate, practice gratitude, or otherwise take time for self-reflection
• Disconnect from screens and social media from time-to-time to take a mental break
• Schedule in time for self-care
• Give yourself as little as 10 minutes of personal time EVERY DAY
• Do something enjoyable that helps you to recharge mentally
• At the end of each day, ask yourself what you did to take care of yourself that day
• Sometimes, that can be as simple as taking a longer shower or going for a walk
• Think about your mental, physical, and emotional/social well-being
• When are you disconnecting from your worries and living in the present?
• What are you doing to take care of your body's needs?
• Who in your social circle should you check-in with today?
• How are you feeling?
• Remember that there are people who care about you and want to see you succeed!
• Friends/family
• Peers/associates
• Advisors/mentors
• Professors/coaches
• Your counselor
• Your other healthcare providers

It is especially important for pre-health students to talk about and confront burnout. Learning how to cope and how to prevent burnout now will help you when you get into a professional program, where rates of burnout are much higher than they are among pre-health students. Developing skills in time management and self-care now will help you to identify and navigate future struggles with burnout during your professional training and on into your career. Healthcare workers experience some of the highest rates of burnout among public servants due to being in high-pressure environments, so it is critical for you, as a future healthcare worker, to understand how to take care of yourself so that you are capable of taking care of others.