Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, according to helpguide.org. 

70% of students reported that they have struggled with their mental health since starting college in 2024, according to Turnbridge. 

Burnout can show up in one’s work, lifestyle or personality traits and reduce productivity and energy, leaving people feeling helpless, hopeless or resentful. 

Between homework, class and work college students often feel mentally overwhelmed and burned out by the end of the semester. 

“Some of the most common concerns include stress, academic concerns, adjustment concerns, family issues, relationship issues, grief/loss, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma and suicidal ideation,” said Emily Becker from Eastern Illinois University’s health and counseling services. 

There is also a new structure and set of expectations that comes with college life as students learn who they want to become in the future and who they are currently. 

Students meet new people, form different friendships and experience different support groups which may result in more or less free time than they had previously, Becker said. 

“As they create a new structure and routine for their lives, these adjustments can become overwhelming and stressful,” said Becker. “Other factors may include financial difficulties, difficulty securing and maintaining employment, isolation/loneliness, trauma, life stressors and uncertainty about the future.” 

This burnout experienced by students is called academic burnout, “a negative emotional, physical and mental reaction to prolonged study that results in exhaustion, frustration, lack of motivation and reduced ability in school,” according to the University of Georgia. 

Academic burnout is also present on Eastern’s campus, something psychology major Abby McBride said she knows all too well. 

“My mental health has been up and down,” she said. “I noticed that I am spending less time with my friends and going out than I have been in the past year.” 

McBride believes that this is due in part to her lack of motivation and feeling tired all the time. She says that since most of her classes are online, she hardly has any chance to leave her dorm room during the day. 

Due to this isolation and anxiety around her classes in her final year of college, she thinks these are the reasons for her strained mental health. 

She also says that motivation is a factor to why students continue to have poor mental health during college. 

“There are three kinds of students: the kind of students that stress about getting things done as soon as they are assigned, the kind of students who pace themselves and the kind of students that procrastinate until the last minute and stress about getting their assignments done on time,” she said. 

Like McBride, grad student and clinical psychology major Samantha Degenhardt has had some strain on her own mental health this semester. 

“Currently I would say I have experienced quite a bit of stress this semester,” said Degenhardt. “I have just completed my comprehensive exams, and I have several projects due by the end of the semester.” 

Degenhardt says that she personally struggles with self-care, especially around tests. She relates this personal experience to the possible experiences of others as students can get lost in the daily shuffle of college and, by default, fail to take care of their mental health. 

Freshman biological science major Rachel Sdao has been feeling overwhelmed and stressed out for her first spring semester, but she isn’t sure if it’s burnout. 

“I don’t know, sometimes I don’t know if it’s burnout or if it’s just procrastinating, I don’t know the difference,” she said. “I think procrastinating happens more often than burnout and burnout lasts longer. So maybe I’m just procrastinating, maybe it’s not burnout yet.” 

Sophomore education major Addison Willis, however, has had experience with burnout during her most stressful, yet enjoyable, semester so far. 

“I definitely know what burnout means,” Willis said. “To me, it’s being so involved in everything that you’re doing and just not really having a break and just being so mentally and physically exhausted that it just makes it hard to keep doing what you’re doing.” 

To cope with the stressors of a music education major, like having an exam every day for a week, Willis tries to step back and look at the bigger picture.

“For me, one of the biggest parts is to remember why I’m here and why I’m doing what I am doing because for me,” Willis said. “Music is such a personal thing it’s who I am, and it’s a reason why I’m still here so I try to find the aspects of music that I enjoy. I clin to it in order to keep myself going.” 

For students like second-year clinical mental health graduate student Dionna Slaughter, it has been challenging trying to get back in the swing of things being burnt out so early in the semester. 

“I would say probably the first few weeks I did [feel burnout] just ’cause there was so much going on at the time, and I worked full time too,” said Slaughter. “It was a big like adjustment period for me the first few weeks.” 

At the beginning of the semester, all the things Slaughter was experiencing drove her to not want to go to work or class, to eat unhealthy foods, and to lose focus on the things she enjoyed and feeling like nothing mattered. 

Being able to recognize the symptoms of burnout she was experiencing, Slaughter began prioritizing her mental health, getting rest, spending more time with her daughter, changing her eating habits and talking with her peers who may be experiencing the same things has helped her get back on track. 

Having shared her experiences, Slaughter hopes others can begin to understand what burnout looks like for themselves. 

“I hope that people become aware of burnout ’cause it doesn’t only look like the things that I talked about, it can be so many other things,” she said. 

To manage burnout, Binghamton University: State University of New York suggests students take some time to journal, set boundaries, join a community, practice mindfulness, find a creative outlet, care for your body with exercise, sleep and evaluate yourself/ask someone for help to help manage this burnout. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health burnout this semester, contact the EIU Counseling Services office at 217-581-3413. 

Alexis Moore-Jones and Michelle Doty can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.