9 Signs of Burnout in Teenagers

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Many Teens Are Burnt Out?This Is Why Stress Leads to Burnout9 Signs of Burnout in TeenagersHow Can Parents Help Their Teen Who’s Dealing With Burnout?

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Table of Contents

How Many Teens Are Burnt Out?

This Is Why Stress Leads to Burnout

9 Signs of Burnout in Teenagers

How Can Parents Help Their Teen Who’s Dealing With Burnout?

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Burnoutisn’t just for adults. In fact, teens can get super overwhelmed with all of their life responsibilities and get burnt out too.

High school, sports, extracurricular activities, friends, romantic relationships, social media, and family can all cause stress for teens.

At a GlanceTeens can experience burnout just like adults. School, high school drama, prepping college applications, and thinking about #adulting can all contribute to exhaustion. Fortunately, there are some coping mechanisms that teens can use to feel better. Parents can help too!

At a Glance

Teens can experience burnout just like adults. School, high school drama, prepping college applications, and thinking about #adulting can all contribute to exhaustion. Fortunately, there are some coping mechanisms that teens can use to feel better. Parents can help too!

The average reported stress level of adults was 5.1 on a 10-point scale, demonstrating that teens' feelings of stress rival those of adults.

In the survey, results indicated that:

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Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, depression, detachment, cynicism, and lack of accomplishment including feelings of ineffectiveness.

Though most adolescents go through situations that cause stress and tension, chronic stress and piled-up stressors can result in depression, aggressive behavior, or suicidal tendencies.Some teens may take to fighting, drinking, andsmokingor other risky behavior in an effort to cope and deal with their feelings of stress.

Here are 9 signs of burnout in teens:

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Better support and health education (at both school, home, and at the community level) will lead to breaking the cycle of stress and unhealthy behaviors for your teen.

Crisis SupportIf you or your teen are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.988

Crisis Support

If you or your teen are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or your teen are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

988

Why Are College Students So Depressed?

11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Teen stress rivals that of adults.Maslach C, Leiter MP.Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(2):103–111. doi:10.1002/wps.20311Pascoe MC, Hetrick SE, Parker AG.The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education.Int J Adolesc Youth. 2020;25(1):104-112. doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823Andersen SL.Stress, sensitive periods, and substance abuse.Neurobiol Stress. 2018;10:100140. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.100140Sheth C, McGlade E, Yurgelun-Todd D.Chronic stress in adolescents and its neurobiological and psychopathological consequences: An RDoC perspective.Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017;1:10.1177/2470547017715645. doi:10.1177/2470547017715645Koutsimani P, Montgomery A, Georganta K.The relationship between burnout, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Front Psychol. 2019;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00284Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710Debeuf T, Verbeken S, Van Beveren ML, Michels N, Braet C.Stress and eating behavior: A daily diary study in youngsters.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2657. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02657Rees CS, Smith AJ, O’Sullivan PB, Kendall GE, Straker LM.Back and neck pain are related to mental health problems in adolescence.BMC Public Health. 2011;11:382. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-382Ossewaarde L, Hermans EJ, van Wingen GA, et al.Neural mechanisms underlying changes in stress-sensitivity across the menstrual cycle.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010;35(1):47–55. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.08.011Shapiro MA, Nguyen ML.Psychosocial stress and abdominal pain in adolescents.Ment Health Fam Med. 2010;7(2):65–69.

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Teen stress rivals that of adults.Maslach C, Leiter MP.Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(2):103–111. doi:10.1002/wps.20311Pascoe MC, Hetrick SE, Parker AG.The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education.Int J Adolesc Youth. 2020;25(1):104-112. doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823Andersen SL.Stress, sensitive periods, and substance abuse.Neurobiol Stress. 2018;10:100140. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.100140Sheth C, McGlade E, Yurgelun-Todd D.Chronic stress in adolescents and its neurobiological and psychopathological consequences: An RDoC perspective.Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017;1:10.1177/2470547017715645. doi:10.1177/2470547017715645Koutsimani P, Montgomery A, Georganta K.The relationship between burnout, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Front Psychol. 2019;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00284Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710Debeuf T, Verbeken S, Van Beveren ML, Michels N, Braet C.Stress and eating behavior: A daily diary study in youngsters.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2657. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02657Rees CS, Smith AJ, O’Sullivan PB, Kendall GE, Straker LM.Back and neck pain are related to mental health problems in adolescence.BMC Public Health. 2011;11:382. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-382Ossewaarde L, Hermans EJ, van Wingen GA, et al.Neural mechanisms underlying changes in stress-sensitivity across the menstrual cycle.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010;35(1):47–55. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.08.011Shapiro MA, Nguyen ML.Psychosocial stress and abdominal pain in adolescents.Ment Health Fam Med. 2010;7(2):65–69.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.Teen stress rivals that of adults.Maslach C, Leiter MP.Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(2):103–111. doi:10.1002/wps.20311Pascoe MC, Hetrick SE, Parker AG.The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education.Int J Adolesc Youth. 2020;25(1):104-112. doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823Andersen SL.Stress, sensitive periods, and substance abuse.Neurobiol Stress. 2018;10:100140. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.100140Sheth C, McGlade E, Yurgelun-Todd D.Chronic stress in adolescents and its neurobiological and psychopathological consequences: An RDoC perspective.Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017;1:10.1177/2470547017715645. doi:10.1177/2470547017715645Koutsimani P, Montgomery A, Georganta K.The relationship between burnout, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Front Psychol. 2019;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00284Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710Debeuf T, Verbeken S, Van Beveren ML, Michels N, Braet C.Stress and eating behavior: A daily diary study in youngsters.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2657. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02657Rees CS, Smith AJ, O’Sullivan PB, Kendall GE, Straker LM.Back and neck pain are related to mental health problems in adolescence.BMC Public Health. 2011;11:382. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-382Ossewaarde L, Hermans EJ, van Wingen GA, et al.Neural mechanisms underlying changes in stress-sensitivity across the menstrual cycle.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010;35(1):47–55. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.08.011Shapiro MA, Nguyen ML.Psychosocial stress and abdominal pain in adolescents.Ment Health Fam Med. 2010;7(2):65–69.

American Psychological Association.Teen stress rivals that of adults.

Maslach C, Leiter MP.Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(2):103–111. doi:10.1002/wps.20311

Pascoe MC, Hetrick SE, Parker AG.The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education.Int J Adolesc Youth. 2020;25(1):104-112. doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823

Andersen SL.Stress, sensitive periods, and substance abuse.Neurobiol Stress. 2018;10:100140. doi:10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.100140

Sheth C, McGlade E, Yurgelun-Todd D.Chronic stress in adolescents and its neurobiological and psychopathological consequences: An RDoC perspective.Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017;1:10.1177/2470547017715645. doi:10.1177/2470547017715645

Koutsimani P, Montgomery A, Georganta K.The relationship between burnout, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Front Psychol. 2019;10:284. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00284

Kalmbach DA, Anderson JR, Drake CL.The impact of stress on sleep: Pathogenic sleep reactivity as a vulnerability to insomnia and circadian disorders.J Sleep Res. 2018;27(6):e12710. doi:10.1111/jsr.12710

Debeuf T, Verbeken S, Van Beveren ML, Michels N, Braet C.Stress and eating behavior: A daily diary study in youngsters.Front Psychol. 2018;9:2657. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02657

Rees CS, Smith AJ, O’Sullivan PB, Kendall GE, Straker LM.Back and neck pain are related to mental health problems in adolescence.BMC Public Health. 2011;11:382. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-382

Ossewaarde L, Hermans EJ, van Wingen GA, et al.Neural mechanisms underlying changes in stress-sensitivity across the menstrual cycle.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010;35(1):47–55. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.08.011

Shapiro MA, Nguyen ML.Psychosocial stress and abdominal pain in adolescents.Ment Health Fam Med. 2010;7(2):65–69.

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