What is Teen Burnout?

Teenage burnout aligns with the academic, and personal pressures to reach perfectionism, especially for high achieving teenagers who place high expectations on themselves. Every individual's goals are different, but some factors that contribute to the stress of these teenagers may be the harsh, academic expectations to have perfect grades, making no mistakes, as well as high scores on advanced standardized tests. Extracurricular overload can often consume time for teenagers, creating less time for self-regulation or reflection. Mentally, pressures may also build up through social media expectations and self morals (Suncloud Health).

While high achieving teens often seem well as they seem to do everything, and almost everywhere with their extracurriculars and academic performance, they often choose to not disclose their struggles with maintaining these expectations.

Research Shows Burnout Is On The Rise

For the past 50 years, with the growth of self-reliance, both teenagers and young adults enrolled in college feel the need to excel to perfection. Researchers have studied and analyzed the various types of perfectionism, from self projection to the projection of others. Over the study period of the research by Curran and research psychologist Andrew Hill, there was a 33% increase in social perfectionism that college students and high school students hold themselves up to (Emily Sohn).

These issues do not only occur in just America; 30% of children and teenagers face the trends of perfectionism, which is reaching even more individuals. While holding oneself accountable to their actions moderately can guide them to high achievements, forcing perfectionism can be extremely harmful long term (Emily Sohn).

Another factor to the rise of burnout within highschoolers is the fact that over the years, college admissions have grown to be even more competitive than they were fifteen years ago. Many families correlate prestigious, selective universities with success, though theoretically the same amount of success can be done with hard work at a state school. Teenagers are pressured to not only perform for themselves, but to appear competitive on college admissions, which ultimately ends up defining them as individuals. 

Prioritizing Mental Health

Burnout is especially identifiable with the chronic systems that people affected feel, from continuous tiredness, struggle with concentration with everyday tasks, frustration, and a lack of motivation. If burnout ends up staying with a student, there may be extreme effects to the emotional wellbeing of the individual, depression, constant anxiety, and more detrimental effects. One’s teenage years should be spent balanced, with keeping only priority tasks, and with enough time for personal care and hobbies (Par). 

Combatting burnout can be done with learning how to manage one's time, and establishing ways to regulate emotions, as well as managing the amount of workload placed on themselves. Reestablishing what commitments teenagers are showing up to can help analyze the relevance of each extracurricular. Clearing one's schedule can allow them to create much more time for self care, and their own interests, offering a new balanced routine. 

Embedding a mindfulness activity into each day can also help regulate one’s emotions healthily, and can be tailored to any individual's preferences. Some enjoy going on nature walks, others prefer daily meditation, for even just five minutes every morning. Trying out new techniques can help stressed teenagers find what helps them relax before, and/or after an incredibly busy day.

Always Prioritize Your Health

Of course, things can always be too much. Always confiding in a trusted friend or adult may help to find the correct resources that can be used to help stressed students feel better. Burnout can reach almost anyone, and just because it reached you does not mean the feeling has to remain continuous. Creating a calendar for yourself to manage your daily tasks will allow you to add balance to your life, and make sure you can prioritize what you need to while ensuring that time for yourself is always conserved (Mindsoother Therapy Center).

Bibliography

Health, SunCloud. “High-Achieving but Struggling: The Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Teens.” SunCloud Health, 11 Aug. 2025, suncloudhealth.com/blog/high-achieving-but-struggling-the-hidden-mental-health-crisis-in-teens/.

‌Sohn, Emily . “Perfectionism and the High-Stakes Culture of Success: The Hidden Toll on Kids and Parents.” Apa.org, 1 Oct. 2024, www.apa.org/monitor/2024/10/antidote-achievement-culture.

‌“Anxiety and High-Performing Teens: The Pressures of Perfectionism.” Parinc.com, 12 Nov. 2024, www.parinc.com/learning-center/par-blog/detail/content-hub/2024/11/12/anxiety-and-high-performing-teens--the-pressures-of-perfectionism.

‌“Preventing Burnout: Balancing School, Activities, and Mental Health - Brittani Persha Counseling.” Brittani Persha Counseling, 11 Sept. 2025, brittanipershacounseling.com/preventing-burnout-in-teens/.

‌dotCMS. “Simple Self-Control Techniques for Teens.” Mindsoother.com, 2025, www.mindsoother.com/blog/calming-the-storm-simple-self-control-techniques-for-teens/.

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