You’ve probably heard the phrase, “I’ll take sleep when I’m dead.” But is it really worth sacrificing our well-being for work or other responsibilities?

Think to yourself. Have you ever pushed yourself so hard you end up risking your mental, emotional, or physical health, only to end up in an extremely depressive state of mind? Hoping for an achieving a result that might not even be worth it in the end. Yep, that’s burnout. It’s the closest feeling to death without actually dying

Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by an overwhelming workload. It stems from three main factors: depersonalization, where you feel disconnected from yourself; emotional exhaustion; and a lack of achievement. But I believe a repetitive routine is also a major cause.

Think about it: the constant cycle of homework, exams, and maintaining high grades. balancing sports, clubs, and part-time jobs adds to the stress and fatigue and a lack of motivation.

So, I asked a couple of my friends how they deal with burnout. Their responses were varied, but a common theme emerged: the importance of breaking the routine. A direct quote from my friend was “I feel like the biggest reason for burnout is because life just repeats itself, I’m always busy with school, theater, choir, and spending time with my family. It’s the same thing over and over again. Even though I’m exhausted sometimes I just need to break my routine to give myself a break.”

Imagine this: you love chocolate, but if you only eat chocolate and nothing else, you feel sick. It’s the same with anything else. You need variety in your life. Do more than just work. Take time for self-care. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true. Do something fun, enjoy yourself. Take a shower,  get offline; you’ve probably been working online for days, go outside, get some fresh air you’ve been inside for days, spend time with friends, exercise, get your body moving  and sleep more you’ve probably been awake for days working late.

I feel like I’ve spent so much time on this project trying to find out how to stop burn out, like I’m trying to find some solution but I don’t think there is an end to burn out, and I guess that’s why no matter how many times I try and write an ending nothing sounds right. I guess just enjoy the little time we all have, you shouldn’t spend your whole life trying to find an answer.