Workaholism: Anxiety, Addiction, and Finding Balance in a Busy World

In our productivity-obsessed, always-on world it’s easy for busyness to become a badge of honor. But sometimes that effort-ing transforms from the reasonable pursuit of our goals into workaholism: a compulsive, even addictive drive to work. In today’s episode Forrest and Dr. Rick explore what workaholism is really, the psychological functions it serves, and how it relates to other addictive behaviors. You’ll learn both how to approach changing behaviors like workaholism in general and specific interventions that can help. You can watch this episode on YouTube. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 2:20: Differentiating workaholism from working hard 9:40: Preempting criticism, and your internal audience 17:10: Competence, approval seeking, and motives 23:50: Addiction without social stigma 28:40: Population groups more prone to workaholism 33:50: The stages of change 37:45: Moving to the wider view, craving and regret 40:55: Embodying your future self, and social support 43:10: Identity, and creating a coherent narrative 46:00: Underlying feelings, mindfulness, and making choices 49:20: Distinguishing being and becoming 52:25: Tracking your time, and scheduling time off 54:50: Giving others influence over your behavior 56:20: Rick’s personal experience navigating a healthy work ethic 1:01:20: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors: Factor delivers fresh, never-frozen, fully prepared meals right to your door. Head to factormeals.com/beingwell50 and use code beingwell50 to get 50% off. Zocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Join over a million people using BetterHelp , the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription. Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace ! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices