depression, boredom, stress, hopelessness, helplessness, and the feelings of being overwhelmed and trapped.

     It might not be called "burnout" in therapy, but many people talk about burnout at work - it is a major topic of conversation in the business world.  People discuss it, fear it, and have many thoughts about why it happens to some and not others.  No one is immune from it.  From presidents to paupers, this problem plagues our society as a sickness of ambition.

     Although burnout seems to be the worst possible thing that could ever happen to a person, consider that there is probably a positive side to it.  As strange as those words might sound, burnout could be a sign that something new is on the horizon.  Burnout might be God's way of telling someone that a person needs to change some things in his or her life.

     If you find yourself in a helpless and hopeless situation that has burned you out, then you might have to make some serious changes in your job, life, emotions, and personality.  Do not quit on life.  Burnout can eventually lead to the most positive thing that has happened to you.  There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.  As you read this book, you will see how you can develop a positive view on your feelings.  You also can take charge of the situation and hopefully save your life and career.

 

BURNED OUT: WHY ME?

     Recently I heard a colleague speak of his "Chronic Responsibility Syndrome" and accompanying "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" in a context of job burnout.  I thought, What is he talking about?

     He later clarified that he was trying to tell me, in twenty-first-century jargon, that he felt "burned out."     

Although the terms have changed, since I wrote the first edition of this book in 1982, the results continue to be the same: