With the end of Spring Break finally here and the last half of the semester kicked into high gear, it is easy to find yourself overwhelmed, overstimulated, stressed, and burnt out. Your friends pseudo-compete over who had the least amount of sleep, or who has the most homework, and throw around the words "stress" and "burnout" as if they are the exact same. Maybe this causes you to be confused, or maybe the seemingly small burdens of your friends seems distant, more "champagne problems" compared to your Atlas's burden. But you are not alone. There is a difference between stress and burnout, and it is possible to manage both.
Stress affects every single person ever single day, always in different ways. Whether its built from stress in the personal life, workplace, academic field, extracurriculars, or any combination thereof, stress finds a way to latch onto each of us every day. It is when this stress is compounded that we begin to feel its creeping symptoms. Stress can result from our over-engagement with activities or obligations, and lead to reactive emotions, particularly emotions that are over-reactive. Sometimes you're not being dramatic, you're just experiencing signs of stress. Those suffering from stress can also experience hyperactivity and an anxiety-inducing sense of urgency, causing your "motor" to seem like it's running without an off-switch. Without the mentioned off-switch, those experiencing stress can become fatigued, having a loss of energy despite their feelings of urgency. This conflict of physical versus mental can often result in more anxiety, which leads to more stress, and can make stress physically taxing.
As if stress did not sound terrible enough, its more formidable counterpart, burnout, is here to threaten mental health even further. Burnout is comprised of stress that has built up and compounded over a period of time. So while you can be stressed without being burnt out, you cannot be burnt out without being stressed, and this line is blurry. While stress is treatable with at-home remedies like meditation, exercise, and sleep (though it is often suggested to still seek professional assistance), burnout is a bit tougher to crack, often needing intervention from a mental health professional. The negative cycle of emotions and withdrawal that result in and from burnout are often impossible to individually fight off. Burnout often results in disengagement. Unlike stress, which results in hyperactivity and over-engagement, burnout leads to disengagement in activities and hobbies, even those you are passionate about. And rather than the over-reactive emotions derived from stress, burnout causes a lack of emotions, because they feel either blunt or distant. Those experiencing burnout also face a sense of helplessness, which causes the negative cycle of emotions to restart and spiral, often leading to feelings and symptoms of depression. While stress may be physically tolling, burnout is also emotionally tolling, and can really only glean help from therapeutic/phycological professionals.
If you are experiencing symptoms of stress and/or burnout, please contact these Ball State resources:
-Counseling Center: 765-285-1736
-Health Center: 765-285-8431
-Dean of Students: 765-285-1545
-University Police: 765-285-1111
-Medical Emergencies: 911
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