How do I heal from burn out?

Written by
JollyChartreuseAirTeaTowelInOsakaWithAnger
Published on
Thursday, 08 October 2026
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The story

How do I heal from burn out? I literally feel like a complete failure and I'm so burnt out. I grew up being the smart kid who everyone copied homework off of and everyone knew I did well. But this year (year 10) has been my breaking point. I've been going through a lot of loss, family issues, and my mom almost dying and I couldn't handle all of it on top my studies so I ended up always pulling al nighters and showing up with my homework barely done because when did I ever have time for anything with how hectic my life was? Naturally I burnt out so badly and genuinely struggled to do even the easiest homework I had and kept slipping up more and more with my grades. I fell far off the top of the grade ranking (I was always used to being in the top 10) and because I grew up smart EVERYONE had something to say about it so I was genuinely just a mess and felt like a waste of oxygen. I ended up filling my emptiness with a boyfriend but he ended up just being mean and completely tore down my mental health even more and when we broke up I was even more burnt out and just kept failing at everything no matter what I did. And to be honest I started to just hate myself because all I was ever good at was school, but now I have nothing going for me anymore. The year is almost over and my ex continues to try to pry himself into my life just to make me feel bad and constantly make fun of my grades and calling me stupid all the time, so on top of all my already existing pain this year I've been having frequent panic attacks too. Now tonight is the prize ceremony and I feel like an absolute failure because it's the first year in my entire life I'm not actually achieving anything or going up there and when I went to go tell my family about it (I was very scared) they told me that they won’t be there. I just said alright and walked away because if they dont go then I cant disappoint them anyway. But it still hurts that they aren't making an effort to show up (per usual with my dad but my mom always used to try). And when I treid to vent to my brother, the only family member not making me miserable (long distance) he didn't reply. So to be honest I feel like a complete failure and I want to go back to my high grades and be a top achiever again but the burn out genuinely won't go away and I feel like I'm dying. I'm just chronically tired and just feel anxious every single day and literally cry myself to sleep every night. I'm writing this because I genuinely have no one to talk to and wanted to get it all off of my chest. How on earth do I get out of a burnout while I actively need to catch up with school? I genuinely have nothing left in me and just want it all to end

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TimelessOliveMetalEarphonesInCapeTownWithPeace 25m ago

burnout is no joke, and it hits hard when life's already throwing curveballs your way; but you gotta cut yourself some slack. nobody can push through that kind of stress without eventually crashing. it's like expecting a car to drive on fumes, y'know? your ex sounds like absolute trash and definitely doesn't deserve any more space in your head. getting back on track with school might take time and there's no magic fix, but maybe prioritize rest and set super tiny goals for yourself. taking care of your mental health has to come first; if you're not okay, nothing else really matters anyway.