How do you cope with academic burnout?
Hi, M24 here, currently studying at one of the XUET (X = B, C, K, R), with one month left until my graduation. Since the day I got admitted here, I was super focused on studies. At first, I sacrificed my sleep to complete my studies. Eventually it became an everyday habit. I slept on average 5 hours a day. Even on weekends and holidays, I couldn’t sleep well. I would sleep late and wake up early. Everyday feels like a constant fight for survival, not against the world, but against your own body. I live with constant headache all the time, my eyesight has weakened greatly, I have gained 20-25 kg of weight over the last 4 years just by sitting at my desk and having a binge eating habit to cope with the pressure. It has taken a toll not only on my body, but my mind as well. I am so dissatisfied with my life. I am the kind of person who loves the slowness of the nature. The sunlight, the breeze, the sky, the seasons. Not the constant pressure, stress, anxiety and fakeness of uni life. I feel anxious all the time, I feel dissatisfied with what I am doing with my life, I regret wasting my youth and not chasing happiness and family time over academic success. I have married 1.5 years ago. My wife is studying a life science subject in a reputed private university. Her story is also similar to me - ambitious, prioritizing academics over everything, sleep deprived, gaining weight and a heavy dissatisfaction to life. We both are completely burned out. I have only a month left until I graduate, but she still has to wait another year.
I don’t know what to do after graduation. I have secured really good grades, I developed mental resistance (it’s true that I’m burned out, but I still didn’t give up putting efforts in my studies), I feel much more mature and confident compared to me 4 years ago. So it’s not all doom and gloom. I do feel proud of my perseverence for the last 4 years. I feel really happy to marry someone who loves me so dearly and I’m super proud of how hardworking she is. But we both lost our soul in the process. We both feel soulless and hollow inside. Now the only question we ask ourselves, if all of these sacrifices were really worth it? if this is the life we really dreamed of living?
[ It was a rant, not necessarily asking for any advice. just wanted to express my feelings ]