How do I minimize/prevent AND recover from burnout from studying?

[shivajikobardan]

 

TLDR-: student who feels like doing nothing eg not like to even read a page during some days. Used to happen a lot during exams. Is happening since 15 days, visited doctor, started taking meds. Meds might be doing their work. I need some guidance and advice that I might be missing. 

1) I am Computer Engineering student and burnout is really a huge issue for me. I keep getting burn out(IDK the exact word for this tbh). I feel exhausted. I feel fed up studying. It feels like a brain fog. I don't feel like opening my textbook or watching video. I don't want to do anything at all. I instead browse reddit, watch youtube videos to pass my time. I feel so resistant to studying I don't have a word for that man. This has been happening to me since last 15 days. I am simply idle. It is not like I don't feel fear. Even if I feel fear, I feel like doing nth. I have already consulted doctor and doctor just gives me medicines and nth more. So hope people here will be considerate and give tips independent or dependent my medical conditions. My life really sucks due to this. 

2) Even now I have been feeling this thing for around 15 days. I went to Psychiatrist and he added proate medicine. Hope that works. But even though it works I still need some advices and guidances as medicines can't fix everything. 

3) It is not like I study 10 hrs everyday. I study 3-5 hrs everyday normally. I even had a vacation where I travelled a lot and had lots of fun. So it is not due to lack of entertainment NOW. but I agree entertainment lacks in my life a lot. I don't have any ways to relax my mind as most ways to relax would be expensive like guitar. And it is winter it is really boring to do yoga, stretching and meditation. (I used to do it as well in the past but still got burn out so this is not the reason why I am getting burn out.). 

4) My medical conditions-: The medicines that I am using are-: 1) Proate 500 2) Zosert 50 3) Sizodon 2 

5) In the past when I used to get burnout only during exams-: We have 3 days gaps to study during each exam. Our exams last 1 month long And I would finish studying 40% of topics before exams and during exams at least during 2 exams(we would have 5-6-7 exams depending on semester). I would get burnout and fail to do anything during those exams..And I keep failing exams that I have already studied 40% because I can't focus during exams. The culture here in Nepal is most students study during those 3 days and pass the exam comfortably. I have improved here as well. In the past, I used to finish studying once and I would not make revision notes so I had to re-read what I have studied all again. But nowadays I make summaries while studying and just revise it. So it is a bit better in this case. But I still get burnout. 

6) What are hobbies,activities that are not very expensive that I can do in order to prevent myself from being burnout very frequently. I won't mind a burnout every 3 month.
 

[Genady]

(1) THE SHINING (1980) - "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" [HD] - Bing video

jk

However, Computer Engineering? It is better than accounting, but still...

Did you consider that may be this subject is not your forte? or your bliss?

[TheVat]

You mentioned expense, Shivaji.  Music is a wonderful stress reliever, and there are instruments less expensive than a guitar.  

https://www.amazon.com/YRS-24B-Plastic-Soprano-Recorder-Natural/dp/B00EJF5Y26/ref=asc_df_B00EJF5Y26/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198057701162&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17332029863741598566&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9020641&hvtargid=pla-380354557370&psc=1

Not spam, just an example of an easy to play instrument that is affordable.   

Other ways to ease burnout and fog...take long walks, avoid caffeine after 5pm to improve your night sleep (good sleep cures a lot of mental fog problems), avoid sugar and refined flour-based foods (both produce mental fog and mood swings, as well as other negative effects), intensive "explosive" exercise (kickboxing, fast tempo dancing, racketball, karate, etc), and last but not least, regular sexual release of whatever variety is available.  

[MigL]

Study something you enjoy learning about.
( as Genady mentioned )

[Phi for All]

27 minutes ago, shivajikobardan said:

TLDR-: student who feels like doing nothing eg not like to even read a page during some days.

We tell ourselves stories about ourselves in order to deal with our lives, and when those stories are good and positive ("student who's excited about applying knowledge learned in studying Computer Engineering to real life situations"), they can be motivating and inspiring. When we tell ourselves bad and negative stories, they can be depressing and draining. 

Sometimes it can be as simple as changing the story you tell yourself. It's true that we often tell ourselves there are things we don't feel like doing, and if we keep thinking that way we'll probably not do them. We tell ourselves we'll get burned out if we study too much, or we tell ourselves it's too much trouble to get dressed up for that party we'll probably be bored at. But we've all experienced those times when we tell ourselves something different, something positive, and suddenly we're motivated enough to do the thing we've been avoiding, and then we find it wasn't so bad after all. In fact it was pretty great.

What you obviously need to avoid is letting this "I don't feel like doing this" feeling be random. Set aside some regular time when you do absolutely nothing, instead of allowing yourself to goof off at a time when you really need to be studying. Tell yourself you're now "student who gets their studying done early so they can spend the rest of the day watching YouTube videos without guilt". If necessary, print out some inspirational phrases and hang them up where you can see them regularly.

Many people tell themselves awful stories about themselves in the privacy of their minds, and they forget to remind themselves how utterly awesome they are, and how far they've come, and how much they've learned in so short a time. Don't forget that your brain came at great sacrifice to the rest of your body. Birds gave up much of their physiology in order to fly, and your species did the same to evolve that brilliant brain of yours. Tell yourself better stories.

[zapatos]

What I didn't see in your list of activities was physical activity. For me the greatest relief from stress, work or studying was to walk, exercise, play soccer, etc. Even at work I would never sit at my desk more than an hour without getting up and walking around.