How to recognize the signs of stress, anxiety, and burnout as a university student — and what to do about it.

Written by Simon Spichak, MSc, Co-Founder of Resolvve

To succeed, you’re working hard — studying late into the night, skipping lunch, and avoiding wasting time going out with friends. But despite it all, you feel fatigued and you still aren’t acing your assignments and midterms. 

It’s normal to struggle to balance your grades, social life, and other responsibilities in university. But when these challenges turn into persistent thoughts of failure, trouble sleeping, and start to disrupt your life, it may be a sign of something more serious. Persistent stress can kick off a cycle, morphing into anxiety and eventually burnout. Here’s how to spot the early signs, and what you can do to manage these feelings in a healthy way.

From Stress to Anxiety and Burnout

Stress is a normal physiological response to a perceived threat or trigger. It provides a temporary boost of adrenaline to sharpen your focus and motivation. 

“Stress really is a temporary cognitive overload where you’ve got a lot on your plate,” says Resolvve therapist Yossef Kurtz, RSW. 

Some people even thrive on it. The adrenaline can help you stay attentive during an exam or help you finish up an assignment last minute. Once the temporary trigger passes, the feelings of stress resolve.  

But many students experience persistent stress. It could heighten feelings of anxiety, the anticipation of dread and worry. It leads to constant thoughts of failure and avoidance of stress-inducing situations. It might cause you to skip classes because you can’t handle the feeling that you aren’t prepared or doing well. You may have high-functioning anxiety, where you feel the psychological and physical symptoms — like nausea, chest pain, and trouble sleeping — but manage to scrape by anyways.

When persistent stress exhausts your emotional, cognitive, and physical reserves it leads to burnout. “It makes you say to yourself ‘I can’t do it,’ and makes you feel like nothing will help,” says Kurtz. 

The feelings build up gradually, and might be hard to notice within the moment. Common signs include constant exhaustion, detachment from university and social situations, and a lack of motivation to do anything. Burnout often doesn’t get better with rest; it may require more changes and reorganization in your life and routine to fix.  

Common Signs of Burnout

Burnout affects your emotions, behaviour, thinking, and physical health. 

Emotional Signs

  • Constant feelings of dread, unfulfillment, and emptiness
  • Feeling hopeless or cynical about your courses, academics, and future 
  • Losing interest in friendships, hobbies, or activities you normally enjoy
  • Agitation, irritability, apathy, or crying
  • Frequently shaming or guilting yourself about not “doing enough”

Cognitive Signs

  • Trouble concentrating and paying attention, even in the absence of distractions
  • Problems with remembering and retaining information, as well as complex thinking and planning 
  • Trouble making simple decisions
  • Constant all-or-nothing thinking like “If I fail this midterm, my life is ruined.”

Physical Signs

  • Sleeping too little or too much
  • Feeling fatigued even after a long night of sleep
  • Frequently feeling ill or exhausted in the absence of any other medical conditions
  • Headaches, stomach issues, or muscle tension 
  • Skipping meals, changes in appetite, or stress eating

Behavioural Signs

  • Withdrawing from friends, family, or activities
  • Constant procrastination
  • Using alcohol or other drugs to cope
  • Constantly skipping classes
  • Working nonstop or compulsively

Why Are Students Vulnerable to Burnout?

There are many reasons that students are especially vulnerable:

  • The high-stress environment of university could trigger the stress to burnout cycle 
  • Many students and families tie identity to academic achievement
  • Loss of support structures from home and friends
  • Needing to navigate university and manage time while living alone for the first time
  • Financial pressures

The transition to university, especially for first year students removes the familiar support systems. “At university, they treat you like an adult,” says Meira Gastfreund, RP(Q). “No one’s following up with you if you’re not there in class. You need to be accountable for yourself.”

Breaking the Burnout Cycle

The best way to prevent burnout is to deal with stress early on. 

Before hitting full-on burnout, if you’re stressed, you can try:

  • Movement and physical activity like walking, yoga, or other sports to discharge the pent up energy
  • Laughter or crying
  • Practising breathwork or meditation
  • Connecting with friends and family for a conversation

“Understand how much coursework you can handle and set a firm boundary. Don’t be afraid to say I can’t do it and lighten your courseload,” says Kurtz. It’s important, he adds, to understand your priorities and make sure you leave time to rest.

When you’re burned out, these tricks probably won’t work. Here’s what you can try:

  • Acknowledge the feelings and stop trying to work through them
  • Speak with a guidance counsellor, professor, or registrar to help reduce your work load or extend deadlines
  • Speak with a mental health professional who can help you rebuild healthier patterns and routines to prevent future burnout

The longer that burnout drags out, the harder it may be to recover. 

“We shouldn’t wait until we’re burned out or failing our course,” says Kurtz. “Get help early. There’s no shame in admitting you need help.” Remember that these feelings are very common in university and that advocating for yourself to receive the help you need, even before a crisis occurs, is not a sign of weakness.

How Resolvve Can Help

Resolvve’s therapists help university and college students in Ontario build health habits, manage stress, and recover from burnout. As a university student, you may be covered under a supplemental insurance plan, which could cover part of the cost of the therapy session  — which means you might not need to pay the full cost out of pocket. If you’re ready to take the next step, book a free 15-minute consultation with a therapist today.