Why young people should be talking about burnout

Circa… 2007?

ME: Mum… I don’t feel very well.

DAD: Stay at home then darling.

MUM: (looking shrewdly at me, after silencing my Dad with a glance) Are you ill? Or do you need a mental health day?

This was a cyclical occurrence in my household and began when I was 10. Always a hard worker and incredibly concerned with what my teachers thought of me, I spent much of my youth booming and busting.

For weeks I’d be non-stop, working full pelt at school and at dance classes. Then suddenly, I’d crash.

I couldn’t face school, usually due to something minor… I didn’t understand my homework, or someone had been slightly unkind: sometimes I just woke up feeling anxious and full of dread.

So I’d feign illness.

My Mum - who I still ring now to triple-check I’m ‘ill enough’ before calling it in to work - saw my ‘headaches’, ‘colds’ and ‘stomach aches’ for what they were. After checking I wouldn’t miss anything crucial, and reaffirming that I would also miss dance class if I didn’t go to school, I usually could make the decision myself… I’d either get myself ready and go, or I’d double down and prepare to watch daytime television.

It’s not lost on me how lucky I was to have had parental validation: she agreed that sometimes, I just needed a circuit break so that I’d be ready to go again the day after.

This meant that as an adult, I was able to differentiate between what was a mental health or catch-up day, and what was exhaustion from sustained survival mode and chronic burnout… therefore getting the right help when I needed it.

I also learned to trust my gut, personalising my recovery to help me feel better.

So how do we support our students? Without this insight, some young people could misconstrue burnout and exhaustion for laziness, depression, perpetual low-level illness… or worst of all? Just the way life is, when you have responsibilities and a full schedule.

If they accept being overstretched and without resource as early as secondary school, they are at risk of entering careers that leave them depleted and lacking the necessary joy and enthusiasm for life.

Actively teaching burnout management - including how to recognise it - is crucial for this generation of students, especially as they have greater stresses on their mental load (i.e., social media and environmental factors).

Teaching them to manage their burnout - not through following the latest five-step plan on TikTok, but their own intuition - can actively help them rest and fill their cup more effectively.

It gives them agency, a practical way to overcome overwhelm and boost their motivation intrinsically.

This can help them rationalise their revision schedules vs. seeing their friends, for example, as they don’t just feel like they’re ‘not doing enough’; they see the value of down-time and connection, time-blocking areas for work AND for rest… thus feeling more in control of their wellbeing and academic outcomes.

This in turn makes them better, happier, more resilient students, which is the ultimate measure of success for educators.

This ethos - and total lack of formalised provision when I was a teenager - has inspired me to create ‘Burnout Management 101’ for young people.

A top-rated and previously sold-out workshop, I hold space for students to reflect on their work-life balance, and put personalised strategies in place to boost both their productivity and wellness simultaneously.

To enquire or book for your students, please visit my ‘Workshops’ page.

I can’t wait to work with you!