[stygiansonic]

The human body is generally well-adapted to maintaining homeostasis, in the absence of extreme illness and disease, i.e. feeling thirsty when you need fluids, hunger when you need calories and needing sleep when you're tired.

However, sometimes external and internal factors can cause us to ignore these basic needs/warning signs. The need to meet a deadline, the need to not let down your coworkers or the need to demonstrate "passions" for your line of work. The first two apply pretty much to any job nowadays, while the latter applies groups that are often expected to show a "portfolio" of their work, such as artists, musicians, graphic designers and increasingly, software developers.

All of these demands can easily lead to burnout and a lack of passion, not just tiredness. Feeling tired is one thing, as one usually ascribe that physical causes. But having a feeling of lacking passion can be soul-crushing, as it leads one to question whether one is in the right field of work. This is perhaps the one of the worst effects of burnout and must be avoided. Burnout is the cause and a lack of passion is merely a symptom.

Realizing there is much more to life than work-related goals, as the article suggests, is a good solution.