A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:I think I'm having a burn out. I feel very stupid for saying this because I'm a university student and students aren't supposed to burned out. But I really need some help on this one! Am I whining here or is there really something going on?Anyway, here's my situation:I'm doing a study I love and I have been getting great grades for the past 2 years. However, the work load is a lot, with lots of complicated projects. I'm kind of the perfectionist and I always grab an extra opportunity. However, summer vacation has been really stressful for me (dad got fired, tension; we needed money. ) and though it was sorted out at the end of august I never took a day off or a week away to enjoy myself and pretty much just worked my way through summer. Now I'm well over a month back at school I just feel unmotivated. I'm lacking creativity, I feel run down the whole time and I'm sleeping an insane amount of hours (12 or more). I've already visited the doctor to get my blood tested but he says there's nothing wrong with me physically. At the end of this week I have to complete a huge group assignment and for the first time I feel overwhelmed. Usually I'm completely on schedule with everything but now I'm like the slacker who barely catches up to the rest of the team. The quality of my work is well...bad to me. Yet I cannot seem to keep concentrated for a prolonged amount of time. Last year, I could work on an assignment for hours and hours ánd work fast, and now I'm like a snail with an attention span of less then 5 minutes. I've tried taking breaks, taking the dog for a walk, that sort of thing, but it doesn't help. I've also ditched classes (which is unheard of for me) to catch up with school work, but I end up barely making progress.I don't want to disappoint the people I'm working with, but I honestly don't know what to do. Any ideas?
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reader, anonymous, writes (19 October 2010): I don't mean to jump to conclusions here, but perhaps the stress has got the best of you and you are a bit depressed. Many of the symptoms you say you have are symptoms of depression. Since you are a university student, I'd highly recommend looking into your school's counseling services. Usually they offer free visits or inexpensive ones. Talking to someone might help, and they can also help you medically to get you out of this funk.
If that's not for you, maybe you just need to take a break. I know it isn't within your means to just go off on a vacation since you do have school obligations and classes to attend, but you could schedule some "time off" for yourself. Schedule one evening a week to pamper yourself. Take a nice, hot shower or bath, paint your nails, watch a movie in your room, etc. Do something that is relaxing for you and something that benefits you specifically. It might help release some tension that you're feeling. If nothing at all helps, I would seriously consider getting help from a professional, as scary as that seems.
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