I was talking with a very successful mid-career professional who was disturbed by seeing a colleague succumb to a mental breakdown. They asked the question – “how can I tell if this is happening to me?”
So here are some signs which I have seen in my own life and in others whom I know:
Continually having to resort to “pushing thru” on projects, family, health activities etc.
Creating spare capacity and then filling it up with more of the same activities. For example taking up yoga at lunch time so you can work longer in the afternoon; or talking anti-inflammatories so you can keep on riding your bike for exercise to stay fit.
Losing touch with your body – the body whispers before it screams. Lots of little viral illnesses or weird aches and pains. None of these can be major but if ignored can lead to things like chronic fatigue or mental breakdown.
Persevering with a partner and kids because it is the right and moral thing to do. It feels like you are going thru the motions to be a good partner / parent but there is no fun in it.
Feeling like there is no flow or excitement in your job and you are having to “feed the beast” to keep it going for yourself, your mortgage, your family and your employees.
We will talk about what to do about this in the next post.