Clarifying an “adrenaline withdrawl”

A senior financial executive, between projects, wondered whether his changed behavior--- reflected in difficulty staying motivated in searching for new projects, social withdrawl, and too much time spent sleeping--- might be the result of adrenaline withdrawl. Prior to downsizing, he’d always gravitated to challenging and active corporate situations. A brief chat with a consulting psychologist resulted in the hypothesis that he might be going through “adrenaline withdrawl” following dismissal from his last position. The consultant’s recommendation effectively covered the bases by citing what seemed like physical exhaustion followed by mood problems. The recommended course of action was to begin with a complete physical exam related to energy level, sleep, and over-all wellbeing.

The explanatory value of “adrenaline withdrawl” in this situation seems to have been narrative rather than physical. The executive had not actively sought environmental stressors on the job to boost his levels of epinephrine- a hormone central in stress reactions. While the position had kept him active, the precursor to his current difficulties was a radical downshifting in activity level. My hunch is that the executive’s withdrawl was compounded from a complex array of meaningful activities:
1) an income producing position that
2) provided daily structure in a meaningful work week
3) including the provision of multiple, goal-related tasks that
4) required continued interaction and negotiation with fellow professionals
5) who “knew” the executive’s capabilities and valued his strengths and
6) all of this contributed to a robust sense of fullness --- at times too much fullness--- in a very meaningful professional life.

While “burnout” might have been a possibility for this executive, his desire for re-engagement argued against it. Rather, the multiple losses of: income, daily routine; meaningful and rewarded work; valuable social interaction; and a continued sense of being known, seem to have taken their toll. Consultation with his primary care physician was a great first step in assessing his physical condition. A significant question to be asked is whether the symptoms suggested to the consultant were profound enough to warrant treatment for depression.

Next, re-engagement with meaningful activities and friends is cardinal. These must begin even before a significant new project is located. And not to glumly hang out, but to relish whatever enjoyment may be taken at any given moment. This may seem trivial to the executive, remembering the challenges so recently before him; but the optimizing of the good in one’s life --- even in something as simple as delighting in the weather --- is a necessary condition for positive self-esteem and presentation. The work of generating work, when it is not immediately given through the tasks of a formal job, is exhausting. The lack of gratification may be felt as enervating. And it is necessary to do whatever is possible to maintain one’s strength and endurance. The finding of work when “between jobs” may itself be much more stressful than the work projects that develop in time.