Have you ever wondered about the burnout that a lot of juniors and seniors face? Or perhaps you are a junior or senior and are facing burnout right now? This article will talk about what the burnout is, how it’s caused, and how to combat it.

Juniors and seniors have a lot of stress on their shoulders. They deal with a lot of issues both inside and outside of high school. 

Juniors are the first to be approached with getting their driver’s license, potentially getting a job, and applying for college early and finding career paths.

Seniors, on the other hand, leave earlier than the other grades. Not every senior knows exactly what they want to do in life. Their courses get harder and more crucial, the need to focus is stronger, and on top of that, most seniors already have jobs, usually part-time, that they’re trying to balance with school, plus the pressure to graduate.

The stress that juniors face is usually called junioritis. Junioritis is a lesser-known, yet equally as important form of stress, a lot like senioritis, except unlike senioritis, it’s caused by feeling overwhelmed as the semester progresses, while with senioritis, it’s usually a drop in motivation which occurs at the end of the year. 

Burnout is when you feel exhausted and overwhelmed from academic pressure, extra-curriculars, or social stress. You lose the motivation to do your work and it feels draining to do it. Burnout causes emotional exhaustion, detachment, higher stress, reduced sense of accomplishment, mood changes, and difficulty concentrating in class.

When burnout happens, it disrupts your work ethic, and is a serious thing that doesn’t just happen to adults. It can happen to anyone and everyone. Around 70% of high school students experience burnout, and although juniors and seniors experience a lot of it, burnout can also happen to freshmen and sophomores. This is why it’s so important to know how to combat it.

One important thing to do to fight burnout is to set achievable goals. Being flexible with dreams you want to reach in life is important, because setting unrealistic goals increases stress and overthinking. Another action is learning to manage your emotions by expressing them and reflecting. Suppressing emotions only puts more stress on you. Finally, it’s always essential to connect with others who can relate to you and support you when you need it.

In conclusion, it’s okay to feel stressed, and remember that there are many sources available to help you.