As the semester grows in intensity, many students are feeling burned out. WCU students have two breaks in the spring semester, but many feel they’re not enough to prevent burn out.
According to multiple studies, over half of college students feel burnt out at some point in their academic career.
Sidney Garrison, a junior psychology major at WCU, is no exception.
“Almost every single day I felt just tired and exhausted. And I’m trying my best to make it through the semester,” Garrison said.
According to Annie Wilson, an assistant professor of psychology at WCU, burnout is something people can experience in different ways. It’s often a result of demands of our time from school, work or other necessities.
“If we have lots of demands on our time, then that lends itself more to the experience of burnout,” Wilson said.
Like many sophomores, Garrison is searching for a summer internship. Something that has added to his workload.
“Looking at an internship application is so hard for me,” Garrison said. “Like, I need to go to my advisor and ask her for help on understanding the internship application – it’s just got me not capable of properly thinking of what I need to get done.”
Veronica Newsome, an alumnus that graduated in May 2024, had similar experiences.
“I experienced a lot of burnout my junior year of college where I was doing the most intense stuff all at once,” Newsome said.
In her junior year, Newsome was not resting or giving herself time to enjoy what she was doing.
“Burnout for me happens when I’m not enjoying what I’m doing, and I feel like it’s just trudging on day to day to day,” Newsome said.
While her junior year was the most intense year of her college experience, Newsome says all four years took a toll on her.
“After graduation, I was so exhausted from the last four years that I didn’t do anything for three straight weeks,” Newsome said.
Much like Garrison, Newsome faced issues when it came time to apply for jobs.
“It was really challenging to apply for jobs while being in school. I wasn’t able to commit fully to the job application process,” Newsome said.
Like Garrison and Newsome experienced, burnout can affect many students. However, Wilson said there are different indicators that contribute to how people deal with stress. She also said that there is no correlation between being burned out while in school affecting if you will be burnt out in the workforce.
“There’s no real strong relationship between the experience of burnout as a student and experiencing burnout in your work” Wilson said.
She explained that the more someone worries about other things, like extracurriculars, on top of schoolwork, the more likely it is that they will experience burnout.
“People who are highly neurotic kind of naturally they worry a lot, they stress a lot, they’re concerned with worst case scenarios, things like that tend to experience more burnout in school and in their careers,” Wilson said.
When dealing with burnout, Wilson advises practicing self-care.
“Things like practicing gratitude and mindfulness, being present in the moment and thinking about everything that you do have. I think those are things that we can practice individually that are evidence based, that reduce stress and anxiety and negative effects,” Wilson said.
While Wilson provides advice on how to combat stress, other resources like faculty and staff along with Counseling and Psychological Services can be beneficial in combating burnout.
As Garrison continues to apply for internships and anxiously awaits results, there is hope he will use some of his own advice.
“Take a step back and worry about yourself, pull yourself together, because at the end of the day, if you’re burnt out, it’s better to take time for yourself and help yourself mentally than to just keep pushing yourself through everything,” Garrison said.
