These feelings of burnout and heightened pressure to keep pushing can translate to the workplace and labor markets. In this sense, burnout can be viewed as a market failure with a negative externality.
Mental health also looks different for everyone. Sometimes, your struggle could come off as being dismissive or moody to outsiders who aren’t aware of your situation. Being as open as you’re comfortable will only allow your relationships, romantic and not, to prosper.
Burnout is not a hero’s tale of necessary sacrifice. It is an alarm bell that the harm of our hard work exceeds the benefits.
It is a desperate signal from the body that the scales of work and rest are unbalanced. Symptoms of burnout can include poor sleep, headaches, digestive issues, muscle pain, difficulty concentrating, irritability and a weakened immune system. If taken without context, these symptoms could be easily mistaken for a health condition.
This recent pattern — in which politicians on preeminent stages across the world are willfully and publicly stepping back from their roles as leaders in order to protect their mental health has brought to light a critical debate: At what point should we sacrifice work for well-being?
Although the onset of burnout from a surplus of work makes next week the perfect time for a break, we are left to grapple with what will become of our mental health in the second half of the semester
