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HEALTH JOURNAL FEBRUARY 10, 2009

You Might as Well Face It: You're Addicted to Success

Article Comments MORE IN HEALTH »

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By KE VIN HELL IKER

Forced to take a buyout from the Kansas City Star last summer, Paul Wenske lost his sense of
identity. "I'd been an investigative reporter all my life, and then boom," says Mr. Wenske, an
award-winning journalist of 30 years. "Suddenly you're not the same person you used to be.
You look in the mirror. Who are you?"

The deepening recession is exacting

punishment for a psychological vice that
masquerades as virtue for many working
people: the unmitigated identification of self
with occupation, accomplishment and
professional status. This tendency can
induce outright panic as more and more
people fear loss of employment.

"It's like having your entire investment in one

stock, and that stock is your job," says
Robert Leahy, director of the American
Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York.
"You're going to be extremely anxious about
losing that job, and depressed if you do."

Over-identification with work is one of many

culprits in the epidemic of recession-related
anxiety and depression that mental-health
providers are reporting. Fear of losing one's
house or failing to find another job are likely
Matt Collins bigger contributors. But unlike those
problems, the identity dilemma is within the
individual's power to address, requiring no lender mercy or stroke of job-hunting fortune. One
approach can require mental exercises, lifestyle alterations and a new set of acquaintances.
But the science behind cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to
change self-destructive thinking and behavior, suggests that that work can bring long-lasting
rewards.
Like a drug, professional success can induce a feeling of ecstasy that quickly feels essential.
Recapturing that feeling can require greater and greater feats, a phenomenon that -- more than
simple greed -- explains the drive for ever-larger bonuses and conquests. "With riches,
success and fame ... you find that greater and greater doses of your 'upper' are needed to
become 'high,' " David Burns, a Stanford University psychiatrist and pioneer of cognitive
behavioral therapy, writes in his 1980 book "Feeling Good."
One recommended exercise for people caught in that trap is to evoke memories of earlier
times that were free of things deemed essential today. "I've published a lot of books, but when
I look back, I'm no happier than in graduate school sleeping on a mattress on the floor," says
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About Melinda Beck
As The Wall Street Journal's new Health Journal columnist, Melinda
Beck is returning to her love of reporting after a seven-year stint as
the editor of Marketplace, the paper's second section. Before joining
the Journal in 1996 as deputy Marketplace editor, Melinda was a
writer and editor at Newsweek magazine, and wrote more than two
dozen cover stories on topics ranging from the Oklahoma City
bombing to the O.J. Simpson trial to liquid diets and the dilemmas of
long-term care. She's always found covering health-care issues
particularly exciting, as evidenced by awards she's won for her
stories from the Arthritis Foundation, the AARP, the American
Society on Aging, the American College of Emergency Physicians,
the National Institute of Health Care Management and the American
College of Health Care Administrators. Melinda graduated from Yale
University and lives in New York City with her husband and two

1 of 3 2/9/2009 10:31 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123423234983566171-lMyQjAx...

Dr. Leahy. daughters.

Often reinforcing the achievement cycle are colleagues who share the view that large bonuses,
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One solution -- simpler in theory than execution -- is to broaden one's circle of friends and On WSJ.com In My Network
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esteem. Therapists say the high achiever often holds self-defeating double standards, feeling
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For Michael Precker, that loss of status wasn't as grim as the fear of it. A veteran foreign Bank Bailout Plan Revamped
correspondent and editor for the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Precker took a buyout in 2006 and
now manages a high-end strip club. "I really wondered how it would feel to sever that link -- More in Health
Michael Precker of the Dallas Morning News," he says. "But it has been easier than I thought. I
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feel lucky." Likewise, Mr. Wenske is working happily as a senior community-affairs adviser for
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To disassociate identity from professional status, therapists recommend taking pride in
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Of course, obsessive attention to work can breed success. But therapists say that adding
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For 18 years, Steve Roman was the public-relations director of the largest bank in Arizona; his Read Emailed Video Commented
forced buyout in 2000 made news in the local papers. "That separation was unsettling.
Everybody knew me as Steven Roman of Bank One," he says. 1. Inferno Destroys Beijing Tower
His new career at a Phoenix communications firm is less visible, but gratifying because he is a 2. Saks Upends Luxury Market
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See a sample reprint in PDF format. Order a reprint of this article now

HEALTH JOURNAL FEBRUARY 10, 2009

You Might as Well Face It: You're Addicted to

Success

By KEVIN HE LLIKER

Forced to take a buyout from the Kansas City Star last summer, Paul Wenske lost his sense of identity.
"I'd been an investigative reporter all my life, and then boom," says Mr. Wenske, an award-winning
journalist of 30 years. "Suddenly you're not the same person you used to be. You look in the mirror. Who
are you?"

The deepening recession is exacting punishment for a psychological vice that masquerades as virtue for
many working people: the unmitigated identification of self with occupation, accomplishment and
professional status. This tendency can induce outright panic as more and more people fear loss of
employment.

"It's like having your entire investment in one stock, and that stock is your job," says Robert Leahy,
director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York. "You're going to be extremely
anxious about losing that job, and depressed if you do."

Over-identification with work is one of many culprits in the epidemic of recession-related anxiety and
depression that mental-health providers are reporting. Fear of losing one's house or failing to find
another job are likely bigger contributors. But unlike those problems, the identity dilemma is within the
individual's power to address, requiring no lender mercy or stroke of job-hunting fortune. One approach
can require mental exercises, lifestyle alterations and a new set of acquaintances. But the science behind
cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to change self-destructive thinking
and behavior, suggests that that work can bring long-lasting rewards.

Like a drug, professional success can induce a feeling of ecstasy that quickly feels essential. Recapturing
that feeling can require greater and greater feats, a phenomenon that -- more than simple greed --
explains the drive for ever-larger bonuses and conquests. "With riches, success and fame ... you find that
greater and greater doses of your 'upper' are needed to become 'high,' " David Burns, a Stanford
University psychiatrist and pioneer of cognitive behavioral therapy, writes in his 1980 book "Feeling
Good."

One recommended exercise for people caught in that trap is to evoke memories of earlier times that were
free of things deemed essential today. "I've published a lot of books, but when I look back, I'm no happier
than in graduate school sleeping on a mattress on the floor," says Dr. Leahy.

Often reinforcing the achievement cycle are colleagues who share the view that large bonuses, medical
breakthroughs or great works of journalism are the only important measures of worth. One solution --
simpler in theory than execution -- is to broaden one's circle of friends and colleagues.

1 of 2 2/9/2009 10:34 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123423234983566171-lMyQjAx...

One of the biggest fears for holders of respected positions is the potential loss of public esteem.
Therapists say the high achiever often holds self-defeating double standards, feeling sympathetic toward
the unemployed while assuming that unemployment would bring him only shame.

For Michael Precker, that loss of status wasn't as grim as the fear of it. A veteran foreign correspondent
and editor for the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Precker took a buyout in 2006 and now manages a
high-end strip club. "I really wondered how it would feel to sever that link -- Michael Precker of the
Dallas Morning News," he says. "But it has been easier than I thought. I feel lucky." Likewise, Mr.
Wenske is working happily as a senior community-affairs adviser for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City.

To disassociate identity from professional status, therapists recommend taking pride in characteristics
that can't be stripped away -- virtue, integrity, honesty, generosity. They also recommend investing more
time and pride in relationships with family, friends and community. Of course, obsessive attention to
work can breed success. But therapists say that adding some balance tends to help rather than hurt
performance, in part by reducing pressure.

For 18 years, Steve Roman was the public-relations director of the largest bank in Arizona; his forced
buyout in 2000 made news in the local papers. "That separation was unsettling. Everybody knew me as
Steven Roman of Bank One," he says.

His new career at a Phoenix communications firm is less visible, but gratifying because he is a founder
and owner. More gratifying yet, he says, is the status his two children have granted him. "I love saying,
'I'm Kyle Roman's dad. I'm Katie Roman's dad.' "

Melinda Beck is on assignment. Email healthjournal@wsj.com.

Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and
by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800... or visit
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