A New Breed of Workaholic

Recently I’ve had a handful of experiences with people in or very close to a work life balance breakdown. In three cases the breakdowns manifested physically through stress induced diseases (shingles, fibromyalgia and high blood pressure) and in one case a pure mental collapse at the acknowledgement they are doing something every day that is out of alignment with their values.

It is true there is such a condition as a workaholic – even W.A. support groups and a W.A. Book of Recovery. I think for some people they are indeed workaholic’s addicted to work in a way that it’s a detrimental habit, where the costs are greater than the benefits. However, what I’m seeing in my work is something deeper, a new layer, something that is a hybrid between the behaviors of a workaholic/addict mixed with the emotional makeup of a trauma survivor.

It’s a theme I’ve been observing over the last six months as I coach people and teach my balance workshops. There is an addiction but it’s not necessarily work, it’s more an addiction to feeling important or valued or an addition to fear around letting go or surrendering control. I see compulsive behaviors replaced by survival behaviors, deviant actions substituted with self destructive choices and preoccupation replaced with feelings of being overwhelmed and helpless. Married to symptoms a trauma survivor faces like avoidance, anxiety, stress, irritability, hyper vigilance and difficulty concentrating and sleeping a new type of “workaholic” has emerged.

Like addicts, I’m seeing overdoses in a way that shows up physically through stress related illness or mentally through emotional breakdowns, depression or anxiety. It’s like a balance crash. The good news is such situations can represent a turning point, like it did for me over two years ago.

I passionately believe it doesn’t have to come to a crisis point to learn lessons of balance. It’s possible that this addiction, condition, situation, whatever it is, is entirely preventable by learning new skills that empower people to listen to mind and body and cultivate awareness between values and actions.