Patrick deWitt Quotes

I would rather not work than be a neurotic mess.

I worked myself into a frenzy. By 1996, I had a nervous breakdown just from working. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, just getting anxiety attacks and all of that stuff because I was doing too much, too young, all the time.

At an individual level just as much as a corporate level, this notion of if you're not really passionate about the work you're doing in a world of mounting pressure, you're going to experience more and more stress. You're going to burn out. You're going to become marginalized.

We use work to numb out. We can't turn off our machines because we're afraid we're going to miss something.

They did interviews with my wife and daughter-they were genuinely in fear of me having a heart attack, working 20 hours a day, eating fast food.

I like normal life, but I will go crazy if I'm not working.

I'm a workaholic, so I ignore the signs of fatigue and just keep going and going, and then conk out when I get home. It can be pretty stressful.

I'm not a workaholic, but I was a bit manic, I have to confess.

I'm not a workaholic!

We work too hard to be miserable.

Vince McMahon is a workaholic; he sleeps 4 hours a night. The last thing that you want to tell the old man is that you are burned out - you need a break.

Most of the stress we feel here in Silicon Valley is self-inflicted.

In the past, I've been a workaholic. I'm trying not to be anymore.

Many a man works himself to death by burying himself in his work.

I don't ever rest. It's a problem and hopefully something I will get a better handle on in the coming years.

I don't really compartmentalize well. I'm in a state of anxiety and panic a lot, but it's for different reasons. It used to be because I had nothing going on, but I work very hard and there doesn't seem to be an end to it.

One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important, and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster. If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his or her work important.

In the early days I was incredibly creative and productive - I loved the research trips, I loved the creation and finding technical solutions to creative challenges. I didn't need alcohol and the pills for that. What changed was, I was afraid to say no - that little word, N.O. Because I thought it showed weakness. And with more and more success I would just say yes. And keep on taking more work on - which took its toll.

I advise all the young kids to not overwork. You can't be out there blowing hard. You have to pace yourself.

When there is no job related stress, you are more aware of your mate and children, if you are a parent.

I do so much work that I don't have a lot of time for my life!

The number of stressors has multiplied exponentially: traffic, money, success, work/life balance, the economy, the environment, parenting, family conflict, relationships, disease. As the nature of human life has become far more complicated, our ancient stress response hasn't been able to keep up.

Honestly, all I ever do is work.

I stop short of being a workaholic.

There are plenty of brilliant people who are too stressed out to read challenging literary novels.