My experiences with burnout

By Isabela Placencia | writing & photography

I find myself getting more and more stressed out as my graduation in December approaches; I’ve gotten to the point where I feel completely drained emotionally and physically. 

Honestly, I’m burned out.

According to WebMD, there are four types of burnout: overload burnout, under-challenged burnout, neglect burnout, and habitual burnout (WebMD Editorial Team & Bhandari, 2026). I fall under the overload category, which is burnout caused by working to the point of sacrificing your health and personal life. 

I’m the type of person who cannot rest until I have completed all of my responsibilities– I literally will not leave my computer until I’ve completed a task. On top of that, I always go above and beyond with almost everything I work on for school. I’ll even stay up until 2 a.m. researching, writing and editing. I cannot settle for any grade below 90%, but 100% is always the goal. 

Unfortunately, my fixation on being the best has led me to neglect my self-care in a multitude of ways. For one, I’ll go hours without eating, so I tend to lose weight during the semester and I lack energy. The four to 6 hours of sleep I get is not helping either. Not only has my family intervened, but my employer has intervened at one point to tell me I’m looking “gaunt” and “miserable”. 

I understand why people in my life are concerned for my health and happiness. My exhaustion and busy schedule have resulted in me neglecting my favorite pastimes like reading, watching anime, or playing video games.

The worst of all is the lack of time I make for my family and friends. Most of the time they tell me it’s okay, but I can tell they miss me.  

Sometimes, the stress of school, work and my social life makes it hard for me to get out of bed. I have days where I want to give up on school. I recall telling a friend that I feel like I’m living in a never-ending nightmare. 

The fact that I feel like I’m living a nightmare coincides with the mental symptoms of burnout. Specifically, burnout can lead to feelings of “self-doubt, helplessness, [and] defeat,” along with a predisposition for cynicism (WebMD, 2026). All of these feelings haunt me. My feelings stem from my fear that I’ll never be good enough, which has caused me to go on an endless pursuit of perfection. The problem is that perfection does not exist, thus making my pursuit a fruitless and draining endeavor. 

Then, here comes cynicism: the belief that people are “motivated by greed and self-interest” (Ruth, 2020). I’m not completely cynical since I recognize goodness in others. Unfortunately, I do tend to lead with the belief that people are selfish; it’s hard to make friends when you believe people fundamentally only look out for themselves. 

Fortunately, my tendency to believe in cynicism alongside my feelings associated with burnout does come and go. I try to remind myself that I’m in a turbulent part of my life. I’m about to graduate and set out into a more professional world. With this comes uncertainty and life changes. 

I find solace in the moments when I remember that I’m doing a good job and I have people who care about me. I’m about to be the first college graduate in my family; I have parents who give me unconditional love; I have a little sister who secretly looks up to me; I have a boyfriend who adores me; I have professors who look out for me. 

The point is that I’m not alone, and I hope this piece will help others realize they are not alone either. Just try to take one day at a time.