Extreme stress

The New York Times once had a front page article,  “Reported Suicide Is Latest Shock at Freddie Mac”, about the untimely demise of a top executive at that institution.

The article poignantly described a pattern of increasing pressures, isolation and despair:

 “Mr. K., 41, began working nonstop, sometimes returning home only to change clothes, colleagues say. He was losing weight and telling friends that it seemed impossible to appease everyone — regulators, lawmakers, investors and other executives — given their competing demands. Someone was always angry with him, he told one friend. And no matter how many hours everyone worked, it seemed as if the economy and homeowners were still slipping farther into the abyss.”

NY Times April 23, 2009

Mr. K.’s situation was extreme. But it is part of a continuum. It’s not so rare for people to feel that their goals are a moving target. To feel pressure to keep performing even harder as the task feels more and more impossible. To feel more and more isolated. It’s not so unusual for people to have the fleeting thought that death would be a relief. Fortunately, in many cases, this is just an idle thought. It can be a wake-up call: Death is not a good exit strategy.