Are you addicted to work?
21 June 2010
Read by 1805 persons
At the office, you spend hours in front of your computer... On weekends, you always bring home one or two files... If you never disconnect, you may be addicted to work. Let's examine this addiction and how to overcome it.
Paola works more than seventy-two hours a week and keeps taking on new commitments. David brings work home every Friday. "There are not only addictions to food, alcohol, or money," explains Pascal Senk, author of the book "Se libérer des dépendances" (Breaking Free from Addictions). Indeed, there are also behavioral addictions. Today, we realize that various activities can be listed: work is one of them, just like gambling, for example. These addictions, the English term meaning "slave to," manifest in various forms but always qualify pathological behaviors. More and more people seem affected by this modern-day disease.
Workaholics!
Often, these workaholics adopt similar behaviors. Firstly, their anxious nature pushes them to act obsessively: they only think about that! "Many work addicts go over their day once in bed and plan the next one in the shower," says Pascale Senk. Work addiction, like other addictions, is also accompanied by compulsive haste. They can't stop. They work on weekends, vacations bore them... A phenomenon that is accompanied by habituation. For the "addicts," always more is indeed a law, erected as a way of life.
Addiction: a relational difficulty
"Every evening, I was afraid to go home," admits Marie to explain her frantic activism. Throwing oneself body and soul into one's work often hides a relational difficulty with one's entourage and with oneself. Psychologists agree: "Addiction most often highlights that one doesn't know how to exist in the face of the world and indicates great despair." It's better to say "I'm overbooked" than to admit one's anxieties. This anxiety is precisely the syndrome common to all those who have addictive behaviors. "They are afraid of what they feel. They therefore tend to flee," adds Pascale Senk. More vulnerable to stress than others, they indeed suffer from strong internal tensions. Work, like drugs for others, temporarily relieves them.
The origin of addictive behaviors lies in early childhood. For example, a mother who was too present or, on the contrary, absent. But it is during adolescence that the disorder reveals itself. The first drug use or an immoderate taste for studies can be the first symptoms.
Modifying one's behavior
Most of the time, work addicts deny being dependent. According to them, they are adapted to a society that requires this behavior. Under the pretext of precariousness, this addiction finds its full justification.
However, it is essential to face reality. The negative consequences of addictive behavior outweigh the benefits derived from it.
To end this addiction and slow down, it is first necessary to accept that one needs help, then to modify one's behavior. This is the field of action for behavioral therapies. Schematically, they propose learning to resist compulsion by finding attitudes compatible with a "normal" life: scheduling vacations and taking them, dropping the call signal, leaving before 5 p.m. on Friday evening (whether finished or not)... In addition, group therapies also work well. The confrontation of participants allows for awareness. From there, new behaviors can be established.
It's never too late to start. If it's 9 p.m. and you're still at work, it's time to close your computer...
Published on February 10, 2009
Posted online on June 21, 2010
doctissimo
Paola works more than seventy-two hours a week and keeps taking on new commitments. David brings work home every Friday. "There are not only addictions to food, alcohol, or money," explains Pascal Senk, author of the book "Se libérer des dépendances" (Breaking Free from Addictions). Indeed, there are also behavioral addictions. Today, we realize that various activities can be listed: work is one of them, just like gambling, for example. These addictions, the English term meaning "slave to," manifest in various forms but always qualify pathological behaviors. More and more people seem affected by this modern-day disease.
Workaholics!
Often, these workaholics adopt similar behaviors. Firstly, their anxious nature pushes them to act obsessively: they only think about that! "Many work addicts go over their day once in bed and plan the next one in the shower," says Pascale Senk. Work addiction, like other addictions, is also accompanied by compulsive haste. They can't stop. They work on weekends, vacations bore them... A phenomenon that is accompanied by habituation. For the "addicts," always more is indeed a law, erected as a way of life.
Addiction: a relational difficulty
"Every evening, I was afraid to go home," admits Marie to explain her frantic activism. Throwing oneself body and soul into one's work often hides a relational difficulty with one's entourage and with oneself. Psychologists agree: "Addiction most often highlights that one doesn't know how to exist in the face of the world and indicates great despair." It's better to say "I'm overbooked" than to admit one's anxieties. This anxiety is precisely the syndrome common to all those who have addictive behaviors. "They are afraid of what they feel. They therefore tend to flee," adds Pascale Senk. More vulnerable to stress than others, they indeed suffer from strong internal tensions. Work, like drugs for others, temporarily relieves them.
The origin of addictive behaviors lies in early childhood. For example, a mother who was too present or, on the contrary, absent. But it is during adolescence that the disorder reveals itself. The first drug use or an immoderate taste for studies can be the first symptoms.
Modifying one's behavior
Most of the time, work addicts deny being dependent. According to them, they are adapted to a society that requires this behavior. Under the pretext of precariousness, this addiction finds its full justification.
However, it is essential to face reality. The negative consequences of addictive behavior outweigh the benefits derived from it.
To end this addiction and slow down, it is first necessary to accept that one needs help, then to modify one's behavior. This is the field of action for behavioral therapies. Schematically, they propose learning to resist compulsion by finding attitudes compatible with a "normal" life: scheduling vacations and taking them, dropping the call signal, leaving before 5 p.m. on Friday evening (whether finished or not)... In addition, group therapies also work well. The confrontation of participants allows for awareness. From there, new behaviors can be established.
It's never too late to start. If it's 9 p.m. and you're still at work, it's time to close your computer...
Published on February 10, 2009
Posted online on June 21, 2010
doctissimo
