GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK

Hunter L., 16, is really tired. Not the kind of tired when you stay up scrolling on TikTok, but tired of, well, being a teenager.

- MAGGIE SALTER

“When I started high school two years ago, I went in full force,” Hunter shares. “I stacked my schedule with APs, joined every extracurricular I could and threw myself into a few friend groups.”

For a while, it was smooth sailing: Hunter got great grades, snagged a spot on the varsity soccer team, found her go-to girl crew and even went on some early college visits.

But by the time her junior year rolled around, something shifted. “All of a sudden, I couldn’t keep up. I was struggling to focus in class, and I didn’t look forward to soccer practice anymore,” Hunter says. “I just felt so overwhelmed by my never-ending to-do list—and there was never any time to relax.”

If Hunter’s story sounds familiar, you may be one of the many teens barreling toward burnout. Between the pressure to get good grades, a schedule stacked with after-school activities/babysitting gigs and attempts at a social life (on top of eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and sleeping eight-plus hours per night), it’s no wonder that stress among high schoolers is higher than ever. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, more than 60% of students report feeling stressed on a daily basis.

While a little anxiety is OK (choir audition jitters or worries about your major history exam are totally normal), continuous stress that leaves you overwhelmed, unmotivated and notably tired is a red flag that burnout is building.

IDENTIFYING BURNOUT

While the term is tossed around a lot, burnout is defined as “an ongoing state of exhaustion—be it physical, mental and/or emotional—and loss of motivation brought on by prolonged periods of stress,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Melanie McNally. “Girls experiencing burnout find themselves feeling irritable, complaining and not wanting to do things they usually like.”