From Burnout to Blackout: A Case of Stress-Induced Fainting

Computer Science isn’t for the faint of heart

photo by author, with graphics from Canva

Burnout, the notorious nemesis of productivity, has long been the bane of existence for students and professionals alike. It’s the silent killer of motivation and the ultimate party pooper in school and in the workplace.

But what exactly is burnout, beyond just a fancy term for feeling like a soggy noodle at the end of a long day? I recently experienced an extreme case of burnout myself and discovered some interesting psychophysiological consequences. For one, passing your classes sometimes comes at the risk of passing out!

The test subject

I’m currently a sophomore at the University of Washington (UW), majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Neural Engineering. While I have experienced burnout before, Winter quarter of 2024 truly hit me like a ton of bricks.

For context, here were my main stressors:

• I was enrolled in 19 STEM-heavy credits, including upper level computer science courses along with a pair of “weedout” chemistry and biology courses. Organic chemistry posed a particularly tough challenge for me, since I hadn’t taken a chemistry course in over three years.
• I was also active in three…