The definition of addiction includes words like 'compulsive' and 'harmful'. All of us have to over work at some time in our lives. Overworking is only an addiction when you feel powerless to stop. It is only an addiction when this compulsion assumes center stage in your life at the cost of all other elements of a health life.

Overworking as an addiction turns a diligent human being into a travesty, a kind of guinea pig unable to step off the wheel in its cage.

Every addiction requires a "high" that good feeling that keeps you coming back for more. The "high" for the overworker is the way he feels about himself while he works. It is a bit like the endorphins that flood the body of the compulsive exerciser. This sense of self worth is often a function of the opinions of others. People generally applaud the hard worker but lack the discernment to differentiate between compulsion and diligence.

The harm that overworking causes becomes evident in two main areas: the health and wellbeing of the person overworking and the relationships he has with family and loved ones.

The overworker is unable to stop working; this means that exhaustion and high blood pressure and all the other health issues that arise under pressure are inevitable. Wellbeing depends on a delicate balance. Overworking rides roughshod over this. As a result body, mind and spirit suffer, sometimes even fatally.

Successful treatment of this addiction is dependent on a recognition that a problem exists. Good psychotherapy can reach to the root cause of the need to overwork while cognitive and behavioral therapies can help to modify behavior.
 

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