AS ATENEO enters its second year of online learning, the prevalent issue of burnout remains a primary concern for the Loyola Schools (LS) community. Burnout—defined as the state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress—has been a persistent problem in the LS. Because of this, some students have opted for a leave of absence (LOA) to take a temporary break from school.
The heavy demands of remote learning—such as taking classes exclusively through a computer and balancing studies with other commitments—have made students much more vulnerable to burnout. With the mental health crisis brought by the pandemic, the calls for burnout to be classified as a medical condition have only been amplified.
While an LOA is an avenue to ease this concern, the stigma surrounding it remains the biggest roadblock holding back students from filing for one.
Student stories
With the shift to the online system, students requesting an LOA will only need to complete a form and ask for a recommendation from the Office of Guidance and Counseling (LSOGC).
For Hannie Perez (2 AB POS), the biggest concern with filing her LOA was the shame of getting delayed. “I didn’t want to get left behind, plus my batchmates were all thriving with their orgs and acads,” she shares.
Perez filed for an LOA in her freshman year, during AY 2020-2021. At that time, she was grappling with a 13-hour time difference from the rest of her classmates and professors since she was residing in Texas, USA. Due to the difficult setup, her interest in her course began to wane, so she felt that taking a break would be most beneficial for her.
Despite concerns of being left behind, she cites the LOA as one of the best decisions she’s made for herself. It made her realize the problem with “hustle culture,” which nudges students like her to power through hardships for the sake of productivity.
“I used to find it so inspiring how students work hard despite what they got through, but then I realized that we shouldn’t glorify the concept of having to physically, mentally, and financially drain ourselves just to be successful or to be recognized,” she says.
Louie Catimbuhan (3 AB POS), filed for two LOAs: One in his first year during AY 2018-2019, and another in his third year during AY 2020-2021.
Catimbuhan’s first LOA was endorsed to him after he was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. He had a hard time focusing in classes even as they were on-site, so he opted for a temporary break from school to focus on his mental health concerns. He filed for another LOA as the lack of physical interaction in the remote setup made it more difficult for him to focus. He shared that his second LOA was well-spent taking care of his mental wellbeing by attending therapy.
Signs of the stigma
Despite the positive experiences of students who have taken LOAs, the stigma behind taking a mental health break still remains.
The act of taking an LOA is generally uncommon in the Philippines, Psychology Professor Arvin Boller shares. The reason behind this is mainly cultural; Filipino families enforce the idea that there is a need to enter the workforce immediately after they finish their schooling.
Boller says this is so because of the differences in values between each generation. The current generation of parents possess a more career-driven mindset as opposed to their children who place more emphasis on self-care. These parents thus become extremely involved with their children’s education, placing excessive pressure on them.
When students enter the classroom, teachers tend to place a similar kind of burden on their students to excel. However, the negative implication of this is that it feeds into the existing pressure students feel as they continue reaching for the top.
“For every behavior that you engage in during your life as a student, you’re being measured. With that notion of being measured comes the pressure to perform; to do something,” explains Boller.
Mistaken for magis
Such academic pressures are evident in the Ateneo, where the concept of magis or the idea of “doing more” dominates conversations.
“When you enter the Ateneo, you put a challenge on yourself. There’s pressure to excel, to be more; that’s the wrong concept of magis,” LSOGC Director Gary Faustino states.
Ateneans tend to use this idea in order to justify their tendency of overworking at the expense of their well-being. This understanding of magis is often associated with resilience, as doing more entails the capacity to keep going.
Resilience is inclined to become a buzzword; one used to praise an individual for championing the hardships in their lives. However, it could also be used to glorify their ability to rise above misfortune rather than acknowledging the issues that led to their dire circumstances in the first place.
In the classroom, students are seen as resilient if they are able to balance their academics, extracurricular commitments, and their personal lives.
While this may seem beneficial, its negative effects manifest in the long run. Students may be preoccupied with getting achievements that they may not realize neglecting self-care can lead to burnout.
A marathon, not a sprint
When students take an LOA due to burnout, “getting delayed” is not the correct phrase to use as there should not be any rush in completing one’s education, according to Sir Boller.
“There’s this misconception na there’s a time limit, na it’s a race. Kaya nga ang tawag nila pag nag LOA ka, you get delayed. Delayed for what? Parang male-late ka for something, which is not the case,” Boller states.
(That’s why when you take an LOA, they say you get delayed. Delayed for what? It’s like you’re going to be late for something, which is not the case.)
He believes that education is about making someone a better person. That journey may be a long one, and it may include taking on a mental health break every now and then. “I think, at least, [in the] Ateneo–the students especially are becoming better in realizing that this is a misconception of what true productivity is. More and more students are realizing that this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Faustino encourages students to take an LOA should they feel the need to. For students who may still struggle with the decision, he advises them to avail of the LSOGC’s counselling services. He shares that attending a session with a professional may show the student a more objective perspective on the situation.Boller shares an analogy for those who are hesitant to reach out to someone: “If you have a baggage, you have to find someone or somewhere you can drop the baggage for a little while. [It] can be other people, noh. It’s like asking them, ‘I’ll just leave this here, can you check it for me in the meantime? I’ll take it back later.’”
