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In the spring, all the new-age and fashion magazines start talking about detox diets and ridding the body of winter's accumulation of toxins and fats. According to at least one expert, professionals may need a good de-teching more than a detox diet.

According to social worker John O'Neill, director of the Professionals in Crisis Program at the Menninger Clinic in Houston, these are the top five warning signs that it's time to start disconnecting from technology:

You start and end your day by checking for email and voicemail messages.

If you can't get a wireless or cellular signal, you feel irritable or panicky.

You plan to spend an hour on the Internet and spend four instead.

You're often late for meetings or miss appointments because you've been returning emails or returning phone calls.

You can't bring yourself to leave your cell phone, PDA or laptop behind when you go on vacation.

"When your cell phone ear piece becomes a permanent part of your wardrobe, that's a problem," O'Neill said in a press release issued by the 26-bed clinic that treats executives and professionals for psychiatric disorders including addiction to online gaming, gambling and pornography.

The list of symptoms for "tech overload" may indeed be a psychiatric disorder requiring a treatment program. On the other hand, since O'Neill's list — at least in part -- includes me and everyone I know, tech overload could just be synonymous with modern life.

"Some of it does sound like me," says Pete Bevin, Development Manager at Uptime Software, "particularly getting sucked into Internet stuff when I only meant to do a quick email check."

The idea of tech overload puzzles other professionals in the tech industry, even if the stereotype of the anti-social, computer-addicted programmer persists.

"Being good at your job and being addicted are not correlated," says Steve Hristov, a senior analyst for CGI.

Whether puzzling or stereotypical, making the choice to self-police against tech overload is the rule among professionals in the tech industries.

"I've had to consciously learn to organize my life so that I can spend a week away from email without feeling that the world is going to fall apart," says Bevin.

"Let's not forget that these technologies emerged as business tools that then became available for the masses for personal use," says Steve Hristov, Senior Analyst for CGI. "I enjoy my free time with my friends and family. I don't see a reason for someone to marry their work-life and life-life."

Being a technology professional — unless you're in marketing -- also brings with it a dose of cynicism about how revolutionary a specific technology is to how we live our lives. The most tech-savvy users seem to understand that just because a technology exists is no reason for it to become a necessity.

For Hristov that means "forgetting" to bring the cell phone until forgetting it becomes a habit.

For Bevin, it means refusing to give into pressure to use an application just because everyone else is using it. "I absolutely refuse to use Instant Messaging and I don't have a Blackberry."