Feeling overwhelmed and suffocated often causes disinterest in activities known as burnout. Burnout is usually caused by attempting to balance loads of coursework, sports and other activities. 

“Burnout was when I didn’t want to do anything,” freshman Jay Jackson said. “At first, I had a mojo going on and then I realized I had too much.”

Juniors face burnout-inducing responsibilities such as the SAT and ACT, extracurriculars, AP and dual enrollment classes, and preparing for college applications. 

“I’ve experienced burnout many times,” junior Emily Marshall said. “It’s as if you saw a tsunami coming, but you are in cement so you can’t run from it.”

However, not all students struggle with burnout.

“I haven’t experienced burnout yet,” sophomore Raaha Sellamuthu said. “Have better time management because if you do all your stuff the night before it gets annoying.”

High school students are not the only ones who can experience burnout. 

“I had burnout because I was under a lot of stress with coming to a new school and a new state,” seventh grader Chauncey Sanderlin said.

Although students may feel that they are unable to do much, feeling burnout is not the end. Some ways to combat it include self-care, setting boundaries and taking breaks. 

“Self care can look like sleeping eight to 10 hours, which teens need,” social worker Samantha Doome said. “This also means setting boundaries such as making it an absolute priority to sleep at 9:30.”

Doome said it’s important for students to realize they can overcome burnout.

“If you think of your cell phone, you need to charge your cell phone every night,” Doome said. “The more you’re on it the longer it’s going to take to charge and the same goes for humans.”

By Sun Han