The Effect High School Has on Students

Some people do not want to admit it but high school is exhausting. Waking up early in the morning, getting ready and getting to school by 8 am, sitting through 90 minute classes/lectures until 3:30, then trying to get through the afternoon traffic to go home and being greeted with piles of homework along with chores. It gets stressful quickly and burnout can come sneaking into everyday life.

Being burnt out for some means having no energy to do schoolwork, for others it means not enjoying the activities you used to because of repetition. Whatever the case, teenagers can get burnt out from anything frequently. 

According to webmd.com burnout is caused by constantly feeling overwhelming and is a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress. To teens, this means high school. Even in after-school activites they may love, feeling like they cannot meet the expectations that are set for them can making enjoying it a little harder.

For example, junior Maddie McClure, involved in Yearbook, says she sometimes feels burnt out from doing assignments in her regular classes, which causes her to sometimes lose her motivation for Yearbook.

“I have anxiety, It makes it difficult to pay attention in class while I am worried about other things and stressing about things I cannot control,” McClure said.

Mental health is a big part of burnout and varies from person to person. Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety can cause teens to lose even more motivation than usual. An anonymous senior said that their mental health heavily affects their burnout, which effects their everyday life. 

“I get overwhelmed very easily so it makes me want to quit,” the senior said. “I suffer from depression, anxiety, ADD and ADHD so whenever I have burnout, it’s difficult to pick myself back up.”

Burnout can be a hard hole to come out of, and sometimes underlying factors can dig that hole deeper, which is why it is important to set some time aside to relax. Senior Ashley Davis says that whenever she feels overwhelmed, she takes a minute to recollect her thoughts.

“I stop for a second and remember the joy in it that I used to have,” Davis said. “Other times I watch tv or listen to music or just sit and focus on my breathing.”

Burnout doesn’t always have to be a bad thing either. Junior Erica Williams says that burnout can actually be a motivation factor for some.

“My top priority is getting things done and burnouts are kinda like an obstacle that delays my progress in getting those things done,” Williams said.

So whether it is school, work or just life in general, burnout can affect teens in several different ways, but overcoming burnout is a lot easier said than done. With the right amount of determination and hard work, burnout is something that can be defeated.