Are you ever facing COVID burnout? Are you stressed about work or even mocks that are going to happen next week that you are totally not ready for? Maybe just burnout in general?

Same.

To help with this, I would say self-care is important and hugely benefits an individual. Now, let’s start with the symptoms and signs that you might be facing COVID burnout.

Burnout is physical and emotional exhaustion from prolonged stress in our lives. Burnout can be caused by a number of stressors, including work, family, or in this case, the pandemic. There are days when you may feel overwhelmed; however, if you are experiencing these signs more days than not you may be burned out. Signs of COVID burnout include:

Higher levels of anxiety when around those who are unmasked

Loss of motivation in following mask mandates

Feelings of helplessness and uncertainty about the future

Physical fatigue

Easily becoming irritable with others

Isolating from others and feeling disconnected

Did you say yes to two or more of these? Bad news, you might be facing burnout but don’t worry, I have tips on how to manage such stress.

Selfcare is practiced to relieve stress while improving yourself. Self-care has been defined as the process of taking care of oneself with behaviors that promote health and active management of illness when it occurs. Some things you could do include – 

1. Checking in on yourself – Do you need a social media break? Are you overworking yourself? Are you eating healthy/well? Are you in a toxic friendship? These things could be causing you to be emotionally drained which might be a sign for you to take a break and practice meditation or something that is relaxing to you.

2. Practice self-care – Self-care comes in different forms. Personally, I love to wear face masks, treat myself to something nice (usually coffee or pizza) and watch a movie/show! Other things you could do could be taking walks calling an old friend or even sleeping. This might seem small but it will definitely make a huge difference in your mental health, trust me.

3. Just ask for help – If you feel like you can’t do it alone or need any kind of support, ask for it! It might be difficult but it will definitely be good for you in the future. Vent to a friend or tell an adult you trust about any problems you might be having and they might be able to help you and give you solutions.

Overall, I think that if your mental health is not doing great and you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s okay to take a break. It’s not the end of the world if you forgot to complete that one assignment for art class. You are allowed to feel what you are feeling and you’re not alone. Your mental health matters!

Learning outcomes observed:

1. Strength & growth
LO1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth. Students are able to see themselves as individuals with various abilities and skills, of which some are more developed than others.

3. Initiative & planning
LO3 Students articulate the stages from conceiving an idea to executing a plan for a CAS experience or series of CAS experiences. This may be accomplished in collaboration with other participants. Students may show their knowledge and awareness by building on a previous experience, or by launching a new idea or process.

6. Global engagement
LO6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance. Students are able to identify and demonstrate their understanding of global issues, make responsible decisions, and take appropriate action in response to the issue either locally, nationally, or internationally.

7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
LO7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions Students show awareness of the consequences of choices and actions in planning and carrying out CAS experiences.