12 Steps to Total Burnout

Mark Driscoll shares a list created by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger and his colleague Gail North. This list shows how someone moves toward burnout. Mark nearly arrived at such a point around Christmas of last year.

I thought it appropriate to post the list for you here just in case you want to know how to drive yourself mad.

1. A compulsion to prove oneself (commitment to win no matter what)
2. Working harder (feeling irreplaceable they buckle down, raise personal expectations, and take on more and more responsibility)
3. Neglecting their needs (eating, sleeping, playing are sacrificed for performance)
4. Displacement of conflicts (something is wrong but I'm unsure what)
5. Revision of values (friends, hobbies, and fun are dismissed)
6. Denial of emerging problems (cynicism, anger, and despising of others for being stupid, lazy, demanding, and undisciplined)
7. Withdrawal (socially withdrawn, loss of hope and direction, pursuit of sinful relief such as drugs, sex, or alcohol)
8. Obvious behavior changes (shy, apathetic, depressed, haggard)
9. Depersonalization (lose contact with self, life becomes meaningless and mechanical)
10. Inner emptiness (often overcompensated for with oversexing, overeating, drug and alcohol abuse in place of leisure time)
11. Depression (indifferent, hopeless, exhausted, life loses meaning and everything from agitation to apathy sets in)
12. Burnout (suicidal thoughts and/or obsession with heaven, physical and mental collapse, need for medical help)