> In other words, why not quit or scale back involvement much sooner, before the downside(s) become so severe? In my experience, burnout (and depression) is no

> In other words, why not quit or scale back involvement much sooner, before the downside(s) become so severe? In my experience, burnout (and depression) is not something you realize you have until you are already deep in it. You may see symptoms of it, but it is easy to dismiss them as something else and completely miss the fact that you are burned out. Hope that helps you to understand and be more sympathetic.