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Yes, Burnout Is Real — Here's How to Avoid It This School Year

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It’s not abnormal to feel stressed and a little sleep deprived at the start of the school year. But if you notice yourself feeling an increased sense of exhaustion or fatigue, along with an increased sense of negativity toward your workload, you could be dealing with something called burnout.

Recently, burnout was incorporated into the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, which means that mental health practitioners are finally starting to acknowledge the intricacies of this wide-spread issue. Translation: burnout is a real thing. But what exactly is burnout, and is it possible to avoid it during the school year?

What Is Burnout?

While the WHO is careful to say that burnout is specifically connected to “an occupational” setting (i.e, a job), new research suggests that it may also be on the rise among university students. After all, when you’re in college, learning basically is your job!

Common symptoms of student burnout may include feeling exhausted due to academic demands, having a cynical or even detached view of studying, and feeling like a bad student. All in all, this negative outlook can impede both your social and scholastic life.

How to Avoid Burnout

First thing’s first, if you’ve recently noticed a change in your outlook or behavior, you should visit a mental health professional, as they are uniquely trained to help with all sorts of emotional issues. In addition to that, it’s been noted that social support of all kinds — specifically from friends — “may provide an important buffer” against burnout. Taking time for extracurricular activities like sports or the creative arts may also help to build up one’s sense of accomplishment, which can help fight back against the negative outlook of burnout.

Yes, scholastic achievement is important, but so is taking care of your own personal needs. And because cold sores can sometimes be triggered by physical exhaustion, if you’re trying to keep breakouts from happening, it’s extra important to allow yourself TLC when you really need it!

In addition to making sure you get enough rest and relaxation during the school year, keep Abreva in your backpack or medicine cabinet for whenever you feel the first few symptoms of a cold sore emerge — an itchy, red, swollen “tingling” sensation on or around the lips. Abreva cream’s unique formulation uses the active ingredient docosanol to penetrate into the skin[1], helping you get rid of your cold sore in two-and-a-half days[2] when used at the first sign.

[1] based on laboratory studies

[2] Median healing time 4.1 days. 25% of users healed in 2.5 days

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