We wrote our Fall semester final exams only a few weeks ago. I still vividly remember the outrageous level of stress I felt during that period and the many all-nighters I pulled. 

Now here I am, a few weeks later, asking myself, where is all that zeal? It is the beginning of the Winter semester, and all the motivation and energy I had to do well are nowhere to be found. I have noticed this as a pattern for many other students. When we overextend ourselves trying to achieve good grades, we’re left feeling burnt out following the holidays. Some may argue this could be diagnosed as a “laziness” syndrome — which may be that we work harder during finals because it requires significant energy only at the end. While I believe there is some truth to this, I think the issue is much bigger.

I think many students are academically burnt out. A few years ago, the Uniter did a survey showing that among students aged 22 or older, one in two students felt stressed every single day of the year and among students 18-19 years old, 47 per cent genuinely considered dropping out of university in 2022 due to the high stress levels. Universities Canada also reported that 89 per cent of students in post-secondary studies feel overwhelmed. CTV News recently published an article headlined, “More than 75 per cent of post-secondary students struggle with mental health.” 

There is a tremendous amount of pressure on students to perform well academically while also juggling personal responsibilities. For every student, the obligations look different, but for many of us, the impact is the same. We face a flood of emotions, sensations and physical tension that make it hard to focus or feel capable of completing anything. We are burnt out. 

Academic burnout leads to a decline in motivation and academic performance and causes emotional avoidance to develop among students. Sometimes, we look at our lack of desire to attend lectures or even study as being a character flaw. But in reality, these behaviours may arise as a protective response. 

Emotionally-based avoidance is when students try to minimize the uncomfortable feelings associated with school by avoiding it. When I feel anxious about a difficult course, I tend to overlook it altogether. Logically, this makes no sense. In practice, I don’t like the feeling of stress and anxiety that comes with having to look over information and still not understand it, or feel the “you are definitely failing this” thought that creeps up on me, so I avoid it altogether. 

Many of my friends say they do the same thing. I think because of burnout and the negative emotions we associate with academics like anxiety, fear of failure and shame, our brains begin to perceive school as a threat and, thus, take protective measures against it.  

These effects of academic burnout are made more difficult to deal with when society teaches us that they are symptoms of laziness and that enough willpower could reverse them. But this is simply not true. No amount of hard work, resolution or determination can overhaul a nervous system response. In fact, diagnosing yourself as lazy or incapable may only add to the amount of stress, pressure and depletion you feel — worsening the problem instead of making it better. 

I think a more realistic strategy is to first recognize when you feel academically burnt out. Understand that it is not a result of some personal flaw and that you are not alone in feeling so. Next, it can be helpful to look into time management strategies, identify certain triggers associated with your academics, and to even take a few days off to completely rest and recuperate.