“Karoshi” is a Japanese term for “working yourself to death.” Such a culture of self-sacrificing commitment to a career has left the country with high levels of burnout, suicide, and an entire generation putting off childrearing to meet unrealistic work expectations. Here in the US, our San Diego drug and alcohol treatment center is seeing a frighteningly similar pattern of overworked executives pouring every ounce of themselves into their work—leaving their bodies, minds, and homes empty. Practically every scientific study and professional self-help book tell us the same thing— “take care of yourself first!” High stress from overworking can cause issues with metabolism and glucose levels and is a key factor in the forming of addiction. Addiction is not a moral failing, it is a response to trauma, stress, depression, and unhealthy work-life balances. Overcoming addiction often means re-evaluating ambitious definitions of success and finding ways of living that harmonize health and productivity.
The Executive Mindset and Addiction
It’s so easy to let ourselves fall into short-term “effective” habits, like ordering dine-in and eating while we work. We often forget that our brain is a living organ, not a machine, and that organ is responsible for all of our business success. Everything from a healthy diet to exercise to managing addictive behaviors are extremely important to the health of your brain. Millions of us have become addicted to caffeine because it’s a quick and effective replacement for sleep, even when we know that’s just a comfortable lie that will leave us feeling drained and sleepy by 2 PM. What we must focus on is changing our behaviors to make the greatest use out of our brains, bodies, and business potentialStephen R. Covey’s best-selling self-help book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, refers to this as “sharpening the saw.” If you’re tasked with chopping down a forest… does it make sense to charge headfirst, or to spend a few minutes sharpening your saw to reduce the workload for every tree? If you don’t treat your body and brain right, how can you expect it to continue to produce amazing results?
Untangling the Executive Brain in Therapy
Happy hours are not an effective therapy tool. Too often, we see hardworking professionals turning to alcohol to reduce stress. While drinking or smoking seems to calm nerves temporarily, they do so by masking the life factors that stress us rather than treating them. As we bury these cognitive quirks deeper and deeper, they begin to pile up. We grow more agitated towards others, jaded towards our work, depressed, and stressed. Because we’ve numbed and suppressed these root causes, it becomes difficult to locate the source of all these negative emotions in our livesOur San Diego rehab offers executive inpatient treatment options, which focus on improving the functionality of your brain in two major ways.
The first is simple detox and health routines. Your business runs on a schedule, so should your brain. If you ever feel drained halfway through the day, detoxing and fixing your circadian rhythms can help you function longer and more effectively.
Our second way of improving your brain is by untangling the negative thoughts & cognitive distortions from years of stress coping. All of our therapists are doctorate-level specialists and are trained in a variety of approaches to helping you achieve a healthy and successful recovery that will improve your life as a whole. Are you considering treatment or rehab? We encourage you to call us at (888) 535-1516 to learn more about how treatment can benefit you.
