Quick Links

Mason Grad Insider

What is Burnout, and How Can You Manage It?

Image of papers and blue sticky notes with a planner on top. The section of the planner reads "TO DO LIST." In red marker is written "SO MANY THINGS" December 1, 2021

Nikita Thadani

 

You may have heard the phrase “I’m so burnt out” before. You may have said this phrase yourself – before grad school or during. This phrase certainly pops up more frequently around this time of year, with final papers, exams, and deadlines approaching. But what is burnout? There are several definitions of burnout – let’s take a look at a few of them. 

Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.”1 The World Health Organization uses the ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th edition) definition of burnout, which is “a syndrome conceptualized as …

Finding Mental Health Resources at Mason & Beyond

Image of golden retriever looking happy in the center of the photo. A Mason student petting the dog on the left of the photo, sitting on a green bench and wearing a camo jacket, a paper face mask, and a yellow hijab. On the right, a woman sitting on a green bench, looking straight ahead at the camera, wearing khaki pants, a blue jacket, and a blue polo. November 4, 2021

by Nikita Thadani

As I’m sure many of you already know, prioritizing your mental health in graduate school is key. Although it can be easy to prioritize deadlines, responsibilities, and work over your mental health and well-being, if we don’t take care of our minds and bodies first, we won’t be able to complete all of our many tasks & responsibilities at hand. As they say, you can’t pour from an empty cup (in this case, you are the cup). 

At the Mason Grad Insider, we’ve written plenty of blog posts about self-care (here and here), meditation, well-being, and resilience as a graduate student. But what about when that’s not …