How to Spot the Early Signs of Academic Burnout + What to Do
- Lanna Wei
- Sep 23, 2025
- 2 min read
Studies conducted in 2024 recently revealed that over 55% of students in college
experience symptoms of academic burnout, according to an article by Crown Counseling. Academic burnout describes the pent-up physical and emotional exhaustion caused by huge loads of stress from school and other activities, including heavy expectations that students receive from coaches, teachers, parents, etc. Especially with increasing competition surrounding student resumes for college nowadays, academic burnout is becoming all too common for many. For example, there are now terms such as “senioritis”, which refers to the slump that senior students get into, as a result of years of hard work and stress then leading to a lack of motivation. Although a word that’s casually thrown around and also partially mocked, it still is just another example of how familiar burnout is to students and, in general, to the student community.
One of the first common signs that an individual is experiencing academic burnout includes starting to feel unmotivated, whether it be surrounding working on assignments, or even to complete simple tasks. Once in the state of a burnout, people also often feel simply drained and exhausted, even though others might say they “have barely done anything”. Some of the symptoms of academic burnout can mirror or contain parallels with depression, where students might experience chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating, rapid mood swings, and overall just not feeling like themselves. When translating to school and other activities, one might notice a dip in their grades, the effort put into projects/assignments, and struggling more with procrastination. However, it’s not just about school. The burnout that occurs as a result of academic stress can also create difficulties in comfortably being in social situations, and it can cause students to withdraw themselves from friends and family.
Therefore, it’s very important for people in students’ lives such as parents, close friends, mentors, and coaches to recognize a change in behavior and be there to offer support. People don’t have to push themselves into directly assisting the student, however letting them know that they’re always there to help and suggest to do relaxing activities together are always good methods.
As the individual themself begins to understand that they’ve encountered academic burnout and must try to overcome it, they should begin prioritizing self-care. Burnout often occurs as a result of an overload of work and stress, and therefore an unhealthy decrease in the amount of time spent caring for themselves and keeping themselves happy and healthy. Some other steps to help in overcoming academic burnout include trying to get in some more exercise (preferably outdoors), focus on getting more sleep, eating healthier, and figure out how to decrease their academic stress. Whether that be implementing more breaks throughout studying time and therefore procrastinating less, or even switching out a class in order to keep oneself sane, remember that in the end, it is all about your own individual health. Spend more time with family and friends, try meditation for fun, and taking yourself out on self-care dates are always good methods to relieve the stress from your mind and be able to take better care of yourself.
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