Why politicians don't want to leave

26 May 2024

I thought this essay by Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, was interesting:

When I left the president’s Cabinet in early 1997 after over four years as secretary of labor, I felt enormous relief. I couldn’t wait to be back home with my family.

But I soon suffered from a sudden decompression, analogous to what happens to deep-sea divers who come up too fast for air.

Call it the political bends.

. . .

Subconsciously, I knew it would be difficult to leave, but I underestimated the difficulty.

After the initial elation of being free from the pressure, I lost my bearings. I felt disoriented. I didn’t know what to do with myself. There were days when I didn’t want to get out of bed, days when I could barely utter a sentence. There were times when I felt spent even though I hadn’t done a thing — because I hadn’t done a thing.

When you’re in a high-pressure job, you get so used to the pressure that you can barely live without it. More

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