Barren County counselor gives tips on avoiding academic burnout

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – “Know that you’re not going to be perfect at everything, and it’s okay to make mistakes.”

That’s a message for students getting ready to go into this academic year from Nicole Jones, the ninth-grade counselor at Barren County High School. 

As students prepare to take on learning new information, some worry about burnout. Harvard University found that 27% of teens say they are struggling with burnout and that 81% say they feel pressure juggling tasks in their lives.

Jones said of the 21 years she’s been a counselor, this is the most that she’s seen teens have anxiety and that technology plays a big role in that.

“We’re learning as we go because it’s evolving with AI. That’s new. That’s evolving. There have been so many changes and one thing that I see the most with students is they are more anxious,” Jones said.

She said that the exposure of perfect lives on social platforms distort the reality that teens should expect.

“It’s pressure. Pure pressure with social media and what they are seeing on social media, they’re seeing perfection. They’re not really seeing people open with their flaws. So, they’re seeing perfect pictures and perfect pictures ma perfect posts and AI generated,” Jones said.

As the clock ticks down for the first bell to ring, to prepare your kids to go back to school mentally prepared, Jones said a rest from screens and proper sleep was one of Jones biggest pointers.

Harvard University’s data showed that 45% of teens get less than seven hours of sleep most school nights. 

“Just encourage your kids. You know, we always encourage them to get involved. Find something that they enjoy outside of school. Let them make those mistakes and learn from them and be there to support them through those mistakes. You know, be there to help them just like you did when they were learning to walk and they failed,” Jones said.