There’s this unspoken expectation in college that you have to do it all. You’re supposed to keep up with classes, maintain a social life, work enough to afford gas and groceries, hit the gym, go to every game day, get involved in clubs, and somehow still have time to sleep. And while we all try to keep up, at some point, it hits you—burnout.
Burnout in college isn’t just about being physically exhausted (though, let’s be real, we’re all running on caffeine and five hours of sleep). It’s the mental exhaustion, the emotional drain, the feeling that no matter how hard you try, you’re always behind.
The Never-Ending To-Do List
College comes with a to-do list that never stops growing. There’s always another assignment, another quiz, another discussion post that you completely forgot was due. And when you’re juggling multiple majors, a job, and extracurriculars, that to-do list starts to feel impossible to manage.
For most of college, I had three majors, which meant that Canvas was my worst enemy. I swear, my to-do list was never empty. It was just one assignment after another, constantly piling up. My junior year, I had 30+ assignments on Canvas every single week, and somehow, I was still working and involved in more than 15 clubs on campus while trying to maintain a blooming social life.
But the reality? I barely went out. Unless it was to grab food or watch TV at my best friend’s apartment, I was too exhausted to do anything else. I felt like I was letting everyone down—including myself—because I couldn’t give 100% to anything. No matter how hard I tried, there just weren’t enough hours in the day to do it all.
The Guilt Cycle of Burnout
Burnout doesn’t just drain your energy—it messes with your mindset. There’s this guilt cycle that comes with it.
If I focused on school, I felt bad for not working more hours. If I worked too much, I felt bad for not studying enough. And if I took a single night off to just breathe, I felt guilty for not being productive. It was a constant battle between trying to do everything and feeling like I wasn’t doing enough.
And then there was the guilt of missing out. All of my friends were going out, making plans, inviting me to everything, and all I wanted to do after a three-hour art lab, a full schedule of other classes, and a long shift teaching kids how to flip around things when I barely had the energy to keep my head up—was to go home, jump in my bed with my dog, and not talk to anyone.
I started getting annoyed at my friends for acting their age—going out, having fun, making the most of college—but they weren’t the problem. I was just exhausted. I hated that I couldn’t be doing what they were doing. I hated that I didn’t have the energy to be spontaneous, to go out without planning around my schedule, to live in the moment like they could. I felt stuck in survival mode while they were out actually living their college experience.
Burnout is more than just being tired—it’s feeling like you’re watching your life happen from the sidelines, wishing you had the energy to keep up.
When Everything Feels Like Too Much
The hardest part about college burnout is that it sneaks up on you. One minute you’re handling everything just fine, and the next, you’re staring at your laptop, completely drained, unable to even start your assignment. Suddenly, things that used to be easy feel impossible.
I used to feel like I could procrastinate all my work and get away with it, but as I got into my upper-level classes and labs, I was lucky if I started a week early and finished an hour before it was due. The amount of times I was hitting submit at 11:59 PM, praying it would go through, was comically depressing. Especially my first semester of senior year—OMG. I was working four hours a day from 4:00-8:15 PM after a full day of classes, then coming home to cook dinner, play with my dog, and feed her before realizing at 10 PM that I had homework due. I felt like I was constantly living in a rerun of the same exhausting episode of “Let’s See How Much Bailey Can Handle Before She Cracks.”
Not to mention, living near the bars in a college town? It meant that every night, I had friends stumbling into my house after the bars, and I had to pretend I had the energy to carry on a meaningful conversation when all I wanted to do was sleep.
There are days when the smallest things feel overwhelming. Responding to a simple text? Too much effort. Cleaning your room? Feels like climbing a mountain. Making dinner? Yeah, that’s not happening—DoorDash it is.
Unfortunately, for both my mom’s and my bank account’s sake, DoorDash was my primary food source until recently. Cleaning my one-bedroom apartment felt like a four-day task, and don’t even ask me about making my bed—you were lucky if I even washed my sheets once a week. And as for texting people back? I probably thought I responded five days ago. (Oops.) Getting out of bed before 10 AM? Yeah, that felt like an Olympic sport. Sad, I know.
The World Doesn’t Stop Just Because You’re Struggling
And the worst part? The world keeps moving even when you feel like you’re falling apart. Professors still expect assignments, bosses still expect you to show up, and no one really notices when you’re struggling—because, let’s be honest, in college, everyone is.
Which, I guess, is why no one really picks up on it when you’re a silent struggler. Everyone is going through their own thing, so unless you completely break down, no one realizes you’re barely holding it together.
Like when my dog died last year. I was given one day off to take her home and bury her, but then? I had to be back at work the next day. Then, I had to travel that weekend for a meet with my kids, act like I wasn’t falling apart, still turn in my homework, and take a French exam the Sunday I got back. Meanwhile, my friends were texting me to come over for a Super Bowl watch party, and I just couldn’t do it.
Let’s just say, I had a full-on mental breakdown in front of everyone, and they definitely got the message.
The “Just Push Through” Mentality
College culture loves to glorify hustle mode. You hear people bragging about how they “haven’t slept in two days” or how they’re surviving off Red Bull and pure vibes. It’s like struggling is just part of the experience, and if you’re not struggling, are you even in college?
The number of times I have gone out until 3 or 5 AM and had to be up at 7 for an 8 AM class is ungodly. The amount of strawberry apricot Red Bull (because, let’s be real, that’s the only acceptable flavor) that I have ingested in the past five years is actually concerning. I feel like at this point, I should have superpowers from the sheer amount of caffeine flowing through my veins.
We tell ourselves to just push through, to get to the weekend, to just finish the semester—but that mentality isn’t sustainable. At some point, the exhaustion catches up, and suddenly, you don’t even recognize yourself anymore.
And when burnout really hits? It can spiral into major depression. You start isolating yourself, skipping things you used to love, and suddenly, everything feels like too much. The number of times I’ve gotten or had to send a “hey, are you doing okay?” text is honestly unbearable.
Being in college during the era of social media doesn’t make it any easier. You take one night off to rest, and then you scroll through Snapchat or Instagram and see all of your friends out having the time of their lives. Cue the FOMO. It doesn’t matter if you chose to stay in—it still makes you feel like you’re missing out on something. And that? That’s the part no one talks about.
So, How Do You Deal With It?
Truthfully? There’s no perfect way to avoid burnout in college. But there are things that can help:
Stop Feeling Guilty for Resting. You are not lazy for taking a break. Burnout happens when you push yourself past your limits—resting is how you keep going. Sleep, take a day off, or just lay in bed and do nothing for a while. Your body (and your GPA) will thank you later.
Prioritize What Actually Matters. Not every assignment, shift, or event is life or death. If you’re exhausted, let the little things go. Will missing one discussion post ruin your entire future? No. Will taking a night off from studying to actually enjoy yourself make you fail out of school? Also no.
Say No When You Need To. You do not have to go out every weekend. You do not have to take every shift at work. You do not have to be at every single event. Protect your energy—you can’t be everything for everyone if you’re running on fumes.
Talk to Someone. Whether it’s a friend, professor, or therapist, you are not meant to go through this alone. Sometimes, just saying “I’m struggling” makes all the difference. Even if your friends are all going through their own thing, the right ones will show up for you the same way you would for them.
Find Something That Grounds You. Whether it’s a late-night drive with your favorite playlist, a workout that clears your mind, journaling your frustrations away, or a 3 AM Waffle House run with friends, find something that reminds you why you’re doing this in the first place. College is stressful, but it’s also supposed to be some of the best years of your life.
Accept That You’re Human. You are not a machine. You are going to mess up, burn out, and feel overwhelmed at some point. Give yourself the same grace you’d give a friend. No one has it all figured out—some of us are just better at pretending.
You’re Not Alone
If you’re feeling burnt out, you’re not failing. You’re human. College is hard. Balancing school, work, and life is hard. But the truth is, you’re doing better than you think you are.
This past year, I was in one of the worst places I’ve ever been. There were moments where I truly felt like I would never be able to pull myself out of it. At certain points, I had literal 30s as my averages in classes, and I somehow pulled them up to 90s.
I felt like I was crashing with no safety net or parachute. I was dealing with a breakup, losing my best friend, my 15-year-old dog dying, getting COVID and the flu, and work drama—all at the same time. Every single day felt like I was drowning, and I honestly didn’t know if I was going to get through it.
But I did.
I got through it because of my friends. I got through it because of God. And I got through it because, when I finally opened up about what was going on, my professors were incredibly understanding.
So if you’re struggling, talk to your professors. I know it can be intimidating, but more times than not, they just want the best for you. They understand that you’re a person first and a student second. And when you’re honest with them, they’re usually more than willing to help you out.
So, take a breath. Give yourself some grace. And remember—your worth is not measured by your productivity. You’re allowed to struggle. You’re allowed to not have it all together. And no matter how overwhelming it feels right now, you will get through it.
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