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WORKAHOLISM, The Well Dressed Addiction (part 1)

Bosses pat you on the back. Everyone calls you efficient and bright with a great future. Larger paychecks and recognition dinners are nice commendations. All those accolades sure seem worth the effort until the uneasy feeling sets in. You ask yourself "Can I live up to my reputation?" "Can I follow through and not let anyone down?" "Can I always be the best?" "Work is the one thing I can do well." Your family isn't appreciating your work efforts anymore. You really haven't had time for your friends lately. Ok, so you forgot your anniversary. There will be plenty of time for vacations and sleeping in some other time.

A workaholic is a person who becomes emotionally crippled and addicted to control and power in a compulsive drive to gain approval and success. A workaholic becomes dependent on their work to define who they are. Work is the "drug" that keeps the workaholic pre-occupied and thus unable to feel other emotions such as intimacy.

Many workaholics happily discuss their work fixation, while hiding the secret side of their work dependency. They feel they can't be liked for who they are as much as for what they produce. Sadly, they can never produce enough.

The down side to this problem is that society doesn’t think it’s a problem. We pat the workaholic on the back and wish we were more of a workaholic ourselves. A few years ago, this was a little like saying "I wish I could loose a few pounds… if only I could be an anorexic". We now know the danger in this wish. However, the workaholic is revered, respected and held in high esteem for all the work they do, and how well they provide for their families.

The dark side is that work is an addiction. Other life activities are lost to work. Families are lost to work. Hobbies, vacations, celebrations, rituals, love, friendships, marriages, child rearing, piece of mind, rest, happiness, self esteem, good sportsmanship are all sacrificed.

Denial plays a huge role in the mind of the workaholic. Consider common excuses like:

"Nothing is wrong I just LOVE my job, I consider my job my hobby."
"Oh I only work hard because I'm just a bit of a perfectionist."
"I could quit these long hours anytime, I just don’t want to."
"Things will ease up right after this project is out the way."
"My job by definition is a hectic & demanding career choice."
" If I don't do it, it just wont get done right."
"I simply have a great work ethic." "I'm merely providing for my family."
"I spend lots of time with my family & have lots of hobbies…. No really I do."
"Everyone in this field works this hard, especially if you want to be promoted."
"I have no choice but to work this hard."