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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 bigger contributors. But unlike those Matt Collins 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
2/9/2009 10:31 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
2 of 3
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, 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.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
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.
Best of the Web Today: 'The World' Goes It Alone
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.
Bank Bailout Plan Revamped
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Inferno Engulfs Beijing Tower 'Too Old' for Hip Surgery
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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.' "
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2/9/2009 10:31 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
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http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123423234983566171-lMyQjAx...
Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com See a sample reprint in PDF format.
HEALTH JOURNAL
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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.
2/9/2009 10:34 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
2 of 2
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 [email protected].
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 or visit 1-800... www.djreprints.com
2/9/2009 10:34 PM
1 of 3
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123423234983566171-lMyQjAx...
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009 as of 12:00 AM EST
HEALTH Today's Paper
U.S. Edition
Home Asia
World
Europe
U.S.
Earnings
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Columns
Business
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Blogs
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Health
Law
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Disney, Spielberg to Team Up
Careers
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More Industries
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Register for FREE
Columns & Blogs
2 of 10
Venture Licenses Bob Marley Rights
Small Business
3 of 10
Nissan to Slash Payroll, Seek Aid
Disease Charities Invest in Drug Star...
FEBRUARY 10, 2009
You Might as Well Face It: You're Addicted to Success Comments
Article
Printer Friendly
Share:
MORE IN HEALTH »
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Text Size
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 bigger contributors. But unlike those Matt Collins 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
Recent Columns 7 Things to Know About Hormones Does Bran Make the Man? Letter to Obama: It's Time to Quit
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
2/9/2009 10:31 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
2 of 3
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, 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.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
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.
Best of the Web Today: 'The World' Goes It Alone
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.
Bank Bailout Plan Revamped
On WSJ.com
In My Network
Plouffe to Donate Speaking Fee
Inferno Engulfs Beijing Tower 'Too Old' for Hip Surgery
More in Health Disease Charities Invest in Drug Start-Ups HHS Candidate Draws Fire, Fights Back Drug Makers Fight Stimulus Provision
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.' "
Study: Gel May Help Fight AIDS Pfizer to Disclose Payments to Doctors
Most Popular Read
1. 2.
Emailed
Video
Commented
Inferno Destroys Beijing Tower Saks Upends Luxury Market
3. Railing Against The Rich 4. Opinion: John B. Taylor: How Government Created The Financial Crisis
Melinda Beck is on assignment. Email [email protected]. MORE IN HEALTH
5.
Bank Bailout Plan Revamped
Most Read Articles Feed Email
Printer Friendly
Order Reprints
Share:
Latest Headlines Brunch Roils Berkeley's Karma
Sponsored Links
More Headlines
AARP Auto - Official Site Over 50? Save $388 On Auto Insurance In Minutes. Free Quote! hartford.com/aarp
4.39% CD Gov-insured 5.01% Checking Government-insured. Beat any rate. Limited time offer. BankCD.com
2009 Government Grants Billions of unclaimed government grants available. Claim Yours! governmentgrantsfor2009.org
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2/9/2009 10:31 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
3 of 3
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123423234983566171-lMyQjAx...
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Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
2/9/2009 10:31 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
1 of 2
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123423234983566171-lMyQjAx...
Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com See a sample reprint in PDF format.
HEALTH JOURNAL
Order a reprint of this article now
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.
2/9/2009 10:34 PM
Face It: You're Addicted to Success - WSJ.com
2 of 2
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 [email protected].
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 or visit 1-800... www.djreprints.com
2/9/2009 10:34 PM
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