Stay bright and glow: how can we turn burnout into a positive
“I don’t want to celebrate anything, let me just pass and that’s it,’’ sometimes we hear these exclamations full of desperate and endless fatigue. Do we ever hear it from ourselves or people around? By the end of the year, when the exam session is coming, we hear it so frequently! What a shell! People are used to forget that habit is not a norm.
Emotional burnout of students is an overlooked social problem. This invisible pathological phenomenon does harm to everyone for sure. Everyday teachers and professors deal with a cyclic working capacity of the student per fas et nefas and by any means. They endeavor to motivate their pupils and do not take into account these young people might suffer from this affliction which is dangerous to their lives.
This brings up the question: “So what can we do?” How on Earth is that possible to predict (at least!) the faded-out soul? And is it possible to be lighted up longer than any Christmas wax candle? It will definitely won’t work if we just say “Three, two, one, Christmas tree get shine!” You know there is an old children’s song which help a Christmas tree make its lovely and colourful lighting chains shine, don’t you? Unfortunately, this won’t work with people; we are freakier than Christmas tree.
Well, let’s skip the long boring reading and go straight to the points of information — there are a lot of them in the university. Let’s just make a sketch of the general humane tips and tricks for training your wild inner pet, in other words, student burnout.
- First step towards problemsolving decisions is to perceive the existence of it. It sounds corny and maybe expected, but to win the moral fatigue by attrition is not enough and people barely gets success by following this path — stop pretending everything is alright and under control; self-delusion is not the right choice.
- Second step, “no” to selfreproach, “yes” to self-care. By all means, studying is very important but it’s not the most crucial. The Earth won’t split asunder, the ocean won’t overflow their banks, just as if you decide to take a nap or a break for an hour or maybe two. On the contrary: if your time is organized rationally then your productivity will be high!
- Third step, stewing up together is a thing! Never depreciate your problems by comparing with difficulties of others. At the same time, don’t focus on it. Each person has their difficulty to cope with life troubles but the problems are always interrelated.
- Fourth step, from enemy to contender. Any knowledge, even the worthiest, is not worth without emotional experience, just because it doesn’t have any feelings. Whether you want it or not, you can prescribe to education or study a sacral meaning. But it’s important to know this meaning doesn’t over shine the real goal which is aimed by your mental and physical activity.
- Fifth step, the appetite comes with eating. Don’t be afraid to be creative. You can start from the necessary information and finish by presenting it with extra add-ons. But, at least make it more interesting for yourself at first. The most boring material might turn to an enthralling side leaving somewhere behind its edifying trait.
Everything should be done by doing our best of ability, but workaholic state should be moderate too. There is just one exception: it’s really very rare when a person watches after himself excessively. Don’t be stingy to persevere important things. Don’t refrain from self-care. Be «on fire” as long as possible and stay bright! Otherwise, who could light up the path if it’s not you?
text Daria Kasyanova
edited by Reshma Durai, Lai Yen Xing
