Humblestudent, I have some similarities when it comes to the burn-out issue and the alcoholism cycles. I also have an issue with recognition. Something I have noticed about myself for a long time is that I have a hard time accepting positive comments (negative ones too, but they are a different story). I have "abstained" from enjoying the positive a lot of times and even resented them as a focus on "trite" things instead of better things (whatever better may have been in my mind).
Houndheart, I have had some more thoughts, yes, some circularity, but nothing too painful. There were some triggers along the way, and I mentioned those recently, but I am still OK.
As I read through these two responses, some memories cropped up and it seems like a love-hate relationship with work is there, and that it comes from my relationship with my parents, in particular my father. That relationship wasn't a very good one, and I blame myself for not giving him a chance more. I used to resent that he would brag about me when I was not there and not communicate things like that directly to me. Or if I was not doing something right, he didn't work it out with me. It kind of pushed me "further out." Both parents died early on in my work life. So it's like there has been something incomplete there, and that was another grade of fuel for drinking.
To recap a reality I mentioned a few days ago...it's not like there are jobs sitting there luxuriously waiting to be picked, but there are some opportunities cropping up and some things to shoot for, and I was questioning where my head should be when it comes to "accomplishment" and whether one area would have more triggers than another. It's the mixture of things that will be important, regardless of how the chips fall. In other words, if I don't have the fulfillment outside of the job (such as no volunteering, for example), then that could include triggers as much as working too much could do. It's not so much either/or that counts as it is the balance between the different parts of life.
I have also given some constructive thought to some tolerance requirements. We'll see if I stick to them or have the luxury of sticking to them, ha ha. Things like the length of time it takes to travel for work and that sort of thing. It all looked so basic and logical when I went through what I thought was an ingenious exercise. Just like Not Drinking looks to people who are not alcoholics, ha ha.