Help DECA to Combat Burnout
Cover design submitted by Eesha Kothinti.
Eesha Kothinti and Suhani Shah
Why Combating Burnout is Needed
Hamilton is filled with ambitious and high-achieving students. They learn, lead, and take on responsibilities, constantly feeling pressure to do more.
As a new school year begins, that pressure can build quickly. Students may take on too many responsibilities, set unrealistic expectations, or feel like they must be successful in every area of their lives.
Take the Break is an initiative designed to help students begin the school year with healthier ways to manage stress, responsibilities, and the pressure to achieve. This event is not meant to tell students to care less about school or extracurriculars. It is about helping them recognize that success should not require them to ignore their well-being.
Take the Break
On October 22, after school, in room 53, Hamilton DECA is hosting “Take the Break” to help students settle into the school year and prepare for the months ahead.
Students will come together, relax, eat ice cream, socialize, and participate in activities such as Color a Smile, a DECA initiative where members complete cards that are distributed to nursing homes, the army, and other recipients.
The event also introduces a simple Take the Break resource sheet, developed with a behavioral health specialist, that students can keep and access throughout the school year.
This includes:
ways to manage stress
strategies for balancing school, DECA, work, activities, and personal responsibilities
suggestions for creating realistic routines
encouragement to set boundaries
reminders that it is okay to ask for help
trusted adults and places students can go for support
appropriate professional and crisis resources
What DECA Hopes to Achieve
DECA wants to create a space where students can pause, reflect, and learn how to take care of themselves while continuing to work toward their goals.
We will normalize that:
It is okay to say no.
It is okay to step back.
It is okay to ask for help.
It is okay to take a break before burnout.
It is okay to change your goals and expectations.
It is okay to not be productive all the time.
Your accomplishments do not determine your worth. Success should not require constant exhaustion. Healthy habits can create long-term success.
Learn to give yourself a break with DECA, sign up now!: https://forms.gle/E7fKrw2uys4aajCGA
