What is Academic Quicksand?

Student athletes who have suffered concussions often find themselves grappling with the need to stay on top of their schoolwork. In many ways, this situation mirrors the concept of overtraining, where pushing oneself too hard during training can have detrimental effects on performance. For concussed students, a combination of internal and external pressures can create a vicious cycle, where their efforts to keep up with their studies only worsen their condition. Fortunately, there are specialized return-to-learn guidelines available to help prevent this predicament. Throughout my years of experience, I have termed this phenomenon “Academic Quicksand” and have developed an engaging visual representation to illustrate this concept.