Classic Signs of a Burn Out

[Techmed07]

What is a burnout? What are the warnings signs? And how do you combat this?

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[whoisthedrizzle]

Your post is confusing.

I'm combating my burnout (7 science classes ATM) with caffeine abuse and self-loathing.

 

[Old Grunt]

N/m

 

[punkindrublic]

Bloodshot eyes, strawberry quik, and uncontrollable laughter.

 

[jochi1543]

When you lose all motivation to study and it stays that way even if you take a day or two off work. When you no longer care about grades and skip class even if you know it'll certainly hurt you, like skipping a pre-exam review for no good reason other than bein tired.

 

[Cataract]

Senioritis all the time. Zero motivation to study, A.D.D., no effort into assignments.

 

[bellacnella]

haha. being like I am right now!

 

[Vvandenn]

Illegal drug usage.

 

[Abilene85]

When you lose all motivation to study and it stays that way even if you take a day or two off work. When you no longer care about grades and skip class even if you know it'll certainly hurt you, like skipping a pre-exam review for no good reason other than bein tired.

Good description.

For me, burnout was when the parts of college I found pleasurable became things I just needed to get done.

Learn to say no. Finish up current activities and lighten your schedule for awhile.

 

[JaggerPlate]

I eventually got to this super depressing point in my life (thank you pre-med !) where I just learned to live through the burn outs (meaning I feel like I'm living in one most of the time). However, before that; I got through them with Rockstar energy drinks. I seriously think at some point you just get used to the stress/burnouts/crap and learn how to live a normal life with all that jazz still in it. Right now Im taking 19 units (university max) of all science classes (half of which are upper div), while working, volunteering in an ER, shadowing an MD, and (sorta) doing research (think I basically left the project though ... didn't care for it too much, but haven't talked to my doc since end of summer), and yet I get less stressed/burned out than I did freshman year taking one science class and GEs.

 

[brianmartin]

For me, burnout is when your brain is no longer learning information like it should be, when there is too much information to process. Like when I find myself sitting up at night with a headache thinking about chemistry for no good reason when I should be sleeping.

 

[Tartheheel]

I think signs of burnout are different for different types of personalities. In general, I believe, the student presents with signs that are distressing to himself, that interfere with how she/he normally behaves, and is overall detrimental to his/her success as a student.

 

[howdy2u]

Burnout: When it's 3:26pm...and you've already taken three naps

 

[TimeResonance]

Extreme apathy. Long television watching cycles. Picturing yourself fleeing from the class room mid-class.(or actually fleeing) Feelings of insatiable tiredness and/or hunger. Random laughter and/or talking to yourself in public.

 

[Jacks Mannequin]

excessive use of the youtubes.

 

[Techmed07]

bump... has to be more people with opinions on this.

 

[pakbabydoll]

When you sit down to study but then keep staring at the same line for half an hour. you feel tired all the time.

 

[GoldShadow]

When you should be studying for a Physiology test and a Physics test but are instead on SDN. Heh, I'm actually not 100% burned out yet, but I guarantee that in 2-3 more weeks I will be.

I'm combating my burnout (7 science classes ATM) with caffeine abuse and self-loathing.

Aye, I'm taking 6 science classes but I'm not a big caffeine fan, or a self-loathing fan. I combat possible burnout by downloading and watching movies on a whim when I should be studying.

Also, your angry mooninite avatar makes me laugh whenever I see it, heh. I bet you look a lot like it, with your caffeine abuse, tiredness, and self-loathing.

 

[Quix]

Burnout = having a treatment-refractory case of the "f***-its".

 

[Tropicana100]

When your wheels generate smoke and you can smell rubber.

 

[Revenant]

A common sign is that you have brown stains in your pants because you didn't wipe throughly enough.

 

[AeroNat13]

I don't think burnout is all about just the "i don't care anymore" attitude. I think it can be disguised very well in your personal habits. For instance, I still very much CARE about school, but I try to justify my not-studying with a TV show addiction that I love...when really part of the reason you love watching/doing it so much is because it gets your mind away from the burnout. If you let other things get in the way then that's where a problem hits. When your trying so hard to convince yourself that its not happening and that the time you spend away from school is justified....that's when ya know your burned out.

 

[HawaiiHereICome]

A common sign is that you have brown stains in your pants because you didn't wipe throughly enough.

 

[Arjunsi]

Illegal drug usage.

Unless you are taking amphatemines to replace sleep with study time. Then you are just being academically responsible!

 

[ocddoc]

 

[DeadCactus]

I think signs of burnout are different for different types of personalities. In general, I believe, the student presents with signs that are distressing to himself, that interfere with how she/he normally behaves, and is overall detrimental to his/her success as a student.

That made me laugh.

 

[Bacchus]

Feeling like you're overwhelmed, mild "depression," don't want to be around your classmates.

 

[Techmed07]

I think the best way to combat a academic burn out is... getting a A, seems to bring back my movitivation.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Burnout: When you can't say "**** it."

 

[pakbabydoll]

When doing good in classes becomes too much of a hassle.

 

[45408]

A common sign is that you have brown stains in your pants because you didn't wipe throughly enough.

hmmm, I've usually heard those referred to as skid marks, not burn outs

 

[Techmed07]

hmmm, I've usually heard those referred to as skid marks, not burn outs

...same here.

 

[Climberak]

Burnout: Having little or no motivation to do the things that you used to do with ease. Studying, paying attention during class, and homework are usually the first things you will notice to become harder and harder to do. My cure for a burnout is to just suck it up and push on through. Everyone has one at least once in a semester (maybe once week for some of you). It's normal; everyone has a burnout and if you don't then you aren't human. With fall coming around it seems to dampen everyone's motivation big time. SUMMER WHERE DID YOU GO???

 

[Tartheheel]

I don't think burnout is all about just the "i don't care anymore" attitude. I think it can be disguised very well in your personal habits. For instance, I still very much CARE about school, but I try to justify my not-studying with a TV show addiction that I love...when really part of the reason you love watching/doing it so much is because it gets your mind away from the burnout. If you let other things get in the way then that's where a problem hits. When your trying so hard to convince yourself that its not happening and that the time you spend away from school is justified....that's when ya know your burned out.

wow...that's what I do!!! Maybe I am a "burn-out" patient too...I didn't realize that until you pointed that this behavior could be a possibility. lol

 

[Isoprop]

i want to bump this thread b/c i face this problem a lot. i call it the "last-three-weeks-of-the-quarter-syndrome." you start the school term strong, score high A's... then you hit a wall. all of a sudden, you just don't care... and it's hard to study, go to class, and function in school.

anyone want to share tips on how to prevent or "cure" burn-out? i hate this apathetic feeling... but at the same time i don't care!!!

 

[Drogba]

i want to bump this thread b/c i face this problem a lot. i call it the "last-three-weeks-of-the-quarter-syndrome." you start the school term strong, score high A's... then you hit a wall. all of a sudden, you just don't care... and it's hard to study, go to class, and function in school.

anyone want to share tips on how to prevent or "cure" burn-out? i hate this apathetic feeling... but at the same time i don't care!!!

And therein lies the intractability of burnout. Like any mental state if its severe enough the exactly qualities you need to work through it are the ones that aren't present at the moment.

Prevent burn out by maintaining balance in your life and spacing out your work appropriately. Apathy is the diametric opposite of cramming. Even though most people recognize this it's still pretty hard to act on the realization!

 

[DrSus]

when you have 2 ten page papers due in the following two days and you spend countless hours sleeping, going obsessively on facebook, youtube, SDN, etc...

 

[Vihsadas]

Burnout isn't when you procrastinate, or don't feel like studying...that's just procrastination, and not feeling like studying.

Burnout is when you ARE studying but you aren't making progress, and you're having a hard time retaining things because of fatigue, overwork, not enough nutrition, not taking care of yourself.
When you study, but you are studying less effectively, THEN you are burnedout.

 

[ryno]

For me, burnout is when your brain is no longer learning information like it should be, when there is too much information to process. Like when I find myself sitting up at night with a headache thinking about chemistry for no good reason when I should be sleeping.

I woke up one night and realized I had dreamed of adding sodium to water... It killed me a little inside to realize school was controlling my dreams now...

 

[fly1346]

Signs of Burnout for me:

-Dreaming about Oxymercuration-Demercuration reactions
-New Favorite word- Neopentane
-Bottles of Diet coke piling up on my desk...a.k.a. studying too much that I dont find time to take out trash lol

 

[Drogba]

]I woke up one night and realized I had dreamed of adding sodium to wate[/B]r... It killed me a little inside to realize school was controlling my dreams now...

I thought you were about to recommend a homeopathic therapy... a deadly one

 

[Aynsl156]

I found this on my friends page yesterday. I think I'll try out some of her tricks.

[Dec. 5th, 2007|12:42 pm] on antiacademia
[emidala]

remember, remember the stress of december.... when did we leave october and end up in this hole of stress and frustration? brrr! after four years of grad school, though, I think I've found a decent formula for detoxifying that stress and turning a problem into power. it contains of one or several of the following:

1. good tea, served in an actual mug (not the little paper cups that stand next to the flavia machine - nor the tea that is brewed in said machine)

2. exercise, preferably cardio (sometimes for only 30 minutes, sometimes I stay at the gym for 2 hours, although that involves having brought a stack of articles to read or possibly papers to grade. critical thinking + elliptical machines = fantastic!)

3. a small bag of assorted nuts (this I carry everywhere, in case I'll get hungry half-way through an important article that needs to be summarized by the end of the afternoon)

4. facials and spa treatments (it's amazing how much better I work after having spoiled myself for an hour at the local spa - even something small like a short massage does wonders!)

5. study music (I have a certain set of songs that I've been listening to while studying ever since my early undergraduate days, and every time I hear one of those songs, I immediately go into study mode. it is very relaxing and I personally am always more productive when I am relaxed). here is a lovely study song that always calms me down and makes me productive.

6. reading fiction every night before bed (especially children's books, like these)

7. my beloved external hard drive and my little flash memory stick (knowing that my work is safe elsewhere is invaluable - especially after two major computer meltdowns one week before papers are due)

 

[Thurinus]

I found this on my friends page yesterday. I think I'll try out some of her tricks.

[Dec. 5th, 2007|12:42 pm] on antiacademia
[emidala]

remember, remember the stress of december.... when did we leave october and end up in this hole of stress and frustration? brrr! after four years of grad school, though, I think I've found a decent formula for detoxifying that stress and turning a problem into power. it contains of one or several of the following:

1. good tea, served in an actual mug (not the little paper cups that stand next to the flavia machine - nor the tea that is brewed in said machine)

2. exercise, preferably cardio (sometimes for only 30 minutes, sometimes I stay at the gym for 2 hours, although that involves having brought a stack of articles to read or possibly papers to grade. critical thinking + elliptical machines = fantastic!)

3. a small bag of assorted nuts (this I carry everywhere, in case I'll get hungry half-way through an important article that needs to be summarized by the end of the afternoon)

4. facials and spa treatments (it's amazing how much better I work after having spoiled myself for an hour at the local spa - even something small like a short massage does wonders!)

5. study music (I have a certain set of songs that I've been listening to while studying ever since my early undergraduate days, and every time I hear one of those songs, I immediately go into study mode. it is very relaxing and I personally am always more productive when I am relaxed). here is a lovely study song that always calms me down and makes me productive.

6. reading fiction every night before bed (especially children's books, like these)

7. my beloved external hard drive and my little flash memory stick (knowing that my work is safe elsewhere is invaluable - especially after two major computer meltdowns one week before papers are due)

Kinda cheesey but I agree with it.

 

[dtepper]

Burnout to me is not being able to control what I do. Not having self-discipline. I think the only way to combat this, sadly, is the hard way.... Push yourself as hard as you can to do work... if that doesn't work, take a break, relax, and when you feel completely relaxed... try again.. repeat this as many times as necessary while minimizing the time you spend relaxing. Most of the time, time is few and far between for premeds, which probably gets us into these messes in the first place. If you are struggling, good luck and try to tough it out.

 

[GoldShadow]

I think I'm starting to develop an immunity to burnout. Last year it hit me pretty hard near the end of each semester.

But even though I've had more work and harder classes this year, been busier outside of class (ECs, attending things, etc), 1-2 exams every week most of the semester, I just got used to it. Now I don't care if I'm overworked, fatigued, and hungry (like missing a meal due to classes). I just tolerate it and get through it. Probably helps that I enjoy most of the stuff I'm learning and doing though.

 

[hypertrophy]

People who are saying tough it out don't get what burnout is. You can tough out stress, and you can tough out an intense workload, but burnout is when you can't tough it out anymore. It's like an academic nervous breakdown.

Burnout is when your brain has had enough, and nothing short of a long rest (n weeks) or therapy will change how you feel about doing the work.

 

[Jpc984]

People who are saying tough it out don't get what burnout is. You can tough out stress, and you can tough out an intense workload, but burnout is when you can't tough it out anymore. It's like an academic nervous breakdown.

Burnout is when your brain has had enough, and nothing short of a long rest (n weeks) or therapy will change how you feel about doing the work.

Burnout is the last step of stress.

 

[neuroprotector]

Sdn, S&m, Icbm...

 

[Maxprime]

My biggest burnout fear - Cortisol interferes with LTP in the Hippocampus. Try as you might, your memory will suck. Long term exposure to Cortisol is considered by most to cause cell death. Cortisol also interferes with metabolism of glucose across the brain, which isn't helping your cognitive abilities. Another great feature of long-term stress is a link to compromising the BBB (Gulf war veterans showed this).

Take a day or two off, keep yourself in check. Short term stress isn't a bad thing, it's often a good thing. Long term stress will only make your efforts show decreasing returns. Burnouts are held off by exercise REALLY well, so long as you don't overdo it.

 

[Vihsadas]

I think I'm starting to develop an immunity to burnout. Last year it hit me pretty hard near the end of each semester.

But even though I've had more work and harder classes this year, been busier outside of class (ECs, attending things, etc), 1-2 exams every week most of the semester, I just got used to it. Now I don't care if I'm overworked, fatigued, and hungry (like missing a meal due to classes). I just tolerate it and get through it. Probably helps that I enjoy most of the stuff I'm learning and doing though.

Memory T-cells and B-cells specific to burnout??