Pressure & Performance Series — Part 1 of 8
Part 1: The Hidden Pain of Overworking and Self-Neglect ← you’re here
Part 2: Work Habits That Lead to Burnout and the Bottle
Part 3: How Long Working Hours Hurt Sobriety (and Productivity)
Part 4: Managing High Stress Without Alcohol
Part 5: The "Whatever It Takes" Approach to Decompression Without Drinking
Part 6: The Social Pressure Trap: Drinking to Fit In at Work Events
Part 7: Financial Pressure: A Dangerous Excuse to Drink
Part 8: Work-Life Balance: Rebuilding Enjoyment Outside of Work
Overworking can look like a strength from the outside. We're dependable, productive and willing to do what other people won't.
Nobody sees the meals we skip, the relationships getting what's left of us or the amount we drink once the work is done. And because we're still getting results, it can be hard to admit that the way we're doing it is hurting us.
Work can be easier than stopping
Work gives us clear problems, deadlines and proof that we've done something useful.
Stopping may leave us with feelings we don't know what to do with. We could feel lonely, restless or unsure who we are when nobody needs anything from us. So we keep working until we're exhausted, then use alcohol to make the stopping part easier.
That can look like dedication. But it could also be a way of avoiding what we feel when we stop.
Self-neglect becomes normal
At first, it may be one missed lunch or a few late nights. After a while, poor sleep, no movement and very little time with people we care about become the normal cost of getting things done.
Then alcohol adds its own cost and we push through that too. Being able to function like this doesn't mean we're okay. It means we've got used to demanding too much from ourselves.
Alcohol can feel like the only thing that's ours
When everyone gets a piece of our day, the drink at night may feel like the one thing we have to ourselves.
It's the reward nobody can ask us to give up. It's our time, our relief and our way of saying the day is over.
That makes stopping feel as though we're losing the only thing we do for ourselves. But something that damages our sleep, health and next day isn't really taking care of us. It only feels like something that belongs to us.
Looking after ourselves before the work is finished
We don't need to finish every job before we eat, rest or speak to someone we care about. And we don't need to collapse before we're allowed to admit this way of working isn't working.
This may mean an earlier finish, a proper meal or telling someone the truth about how much we're carrying. It could also mean getting professional help if our physical or mental health is suffering.
The work may still be very important to us. But it shouldn't take so much that we disappear from our own life and need alcohol to cope with what is left.
— Brent
→ Next in this series: Work Habits That Lead to Burnout and the Bottle