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.
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.''
去年夏天，保羅·文斯科(Paul Wenske)不得不接受《堪薩斯城星報》 (Kansas Cit y Star)的買斷協(xié)議，他一下子失去了自我認(rèn)同感。從事記者這行已有30來年并多次獲獎的文斯科先生說，一直以來我都是一名出色的調(diào)查記者，然后突然之間，你不再是過去的你。你看著鏡子里的自己，不禁會問：“我是誰？”
許多工薪族都抱有關(guān)于職業(yè)、成就和專業(yè)地位的絕對自我認(rèn)同感，而一直以來，這些都被包裝成一個人的優(yōu)點。然而，隨著經(jīng)濟蕭條的逐步加深，強烈的自我認(rèn)同感卻作為心理缺陷被暴露出來。隨著越來越多的人擔(dān)心失業(yè)的問題，這種傾向可能會引發(fā)直接的恐慌。
位于紐約的美國認(rèn)知治療學(xué)院(American Institute for Cognitive Therapy)的主任羅伯特·李希(Robert Leahy)表示，這就像一個人把所有的投資都集中在一只股票上，而這只股票就是你的工作。在這種情況下，你會極為擔(dān)心失去自己的工作，一旦你真的失業(yè)了，你就會感到非常沮喪。
心理健康專家表示，對工作的過分認(rèn)同是經(jīng)濟蕭條時期焦慮和沮喪情緒大肆流行的眾多原因之一。當(dāng)然，擔(dān)心自己失去房子或者無法找到新工作很可能是是觸發(fā)這類情緒的更重要的因素。不過，與這些問題不同，自我認(rèn)知是一個在個人解決能力范圍之內(nèi)的問題，并不需要借助銀行貸款或者求職運氣等外力的推動。一個方法就是進(jìn)行心理練習(xí)，改變生活方式，結(jié)識新朋友。不過，旨在改變自我毀滅性思維和行為的認(rèn)知行為療法的基本原理表明，工作往往可以帶來長期的益處。
像藥物一樣，職業(yè)成功可以導(dǎo)致情緒高漲，而這種情緒很快會讓人感到不可或缺。重新抓住這種感覺可能需要越來越大的努力，而這種現(xiàn)象──不僅僅是簡單的貪婪──正是人們對于高額獎金和戰(zhàn)利品的不懈追求背后的驅(qū)動力。斯坦福大學(xué)(Stanford University)的精神病學(xué)專家、認(rèn)知行為治療領(lǐng)域的先導(dǎo)大衛(wèi)·本斯(David Burns)在他1980年的著作《開心感覺》('Feeling Good')中即表示，“有了金錢、成功和名譽之后…… 你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，你需要越來越大劑量的“興奮劑”才能保持情緒高漲?！?BR> 對于陷入此類情緒困境的人們來說，心理專家推薦的一種治療方法就是喚起對過去的美好回憶，想一想那些簡單的日子，那些沒有你現(xiàn)在認(rèn)為必不可少的事情的時光。李希博士對此解釋道，拿我自己來說，我已經(jīng)出版了很多著作，但是，當(dāng)我回首過去，我并不覺得現(xiàn)在比讀研究生的時候睡在地板上的床墊上來得更加快樂。
其它加劇自我成就感的因素包括與你想法類似的同事，他們可能都認(rèn)為豐厚的獎金、醫(yī)學(xué)的重大突破或者偉大的新聞報導(dǎo)是自我價值體現(xiàn)的途徑。一個解決辦法就是擴大自己的朋友和同事圈子，當(dāng)然這一點說起來容易，做起來難。
對于坐在備受他人尊敬的職位上的人來說，他們主要擔(dān)心的一點是一旦失去了現(xiàn)在的位子，他們可能會失去大家的尊重。心理治療專家表示，成就非凡的人經(jīng)常樹立不利于自己的雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，一方面他會對失業(yè)者表示同情，另一方面卻認(rèn)為失業(yè)只會帶給自己恥辱。
對于邁克爾·普拉克(Michael Precker)來說，失去地位本身還不如擔(dān)心失去地位的恐懼來得可怕。普拉克先生原是《達(dá)拉斯晨報》(Dallas Morning News)的資深駐外記者和編輯，2006年他接受了報方的買斷協(xié)議，現(xiàn)在在經(jīng)營一家高端脫衣舞俱樂部。他說，我當(dāng)時真的很想知道一旦切斷這層關(guān)系──《達(dá)拉斯晨報》的邁克爾·普拉克，我會怎么樣。但是，一切都比我想象得要簡單。我感覺很幸運。同樣，現(xiàn)在擔(dān)任堪薩斯城聯(lián)邦儲備銀行(Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City)高級社區(qū)事務(wù)顧問的文斯科先生工作得也很開心。
為了不使自己過于將自我認(rèn)知建立在職業(yè)地位之上，心理治療專家建議，想想那些無法被輕易帶走的品質(zhì)──美德、正直、誠實和慷慨，并以此為榮。他們還建議多花點時間和精力在家人、朋友和社區(qū)上。當(dāng)然，對工作的投入可以帶來成功。但是，心理治療專家表示，通過在一定程度上釋放壓力，增加一些平衡因素通常會有助于而不是有損于工作表現(xiàn)。
史蒂夫·羅曼(Steve Roman)在亞利桑那州第一大銀行擔(dān)任公共關(guān)系總監(jiān)，他擔(dān)任這個職務(wù)長達(dá)18年；2000年，他被迫接受銀行方面的買斷協(xié)議，這個消息甚至上了當(dāng)?shù)貓蠹?。他說，“這種關(guān)系的終結(jié)令人不安。這里的每個人都知道我是Bank One的史蒂夫·羅曼?！?BR> 如今，他在鳳凰城的一家通信公司展開了新的職業(yè)生涯，雖然不大引人注目，但是更有成就感，因為他就是這家公司的創(chuàng)始人和所有人。史蒂夫·羅曼說，更加令人滿足的是他的兩個孩子給與他的地位?！拔椰F(xiàn)在很喜歡說：我是凱爾·羅曼的爸爸。我是凱蒂·羅曼的爸爸?！?
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.
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.''
去年夏天，保羅·文斯科(Paul Wenske)不得不接受《堪薩斯城星報》 (Kansas Cit y Star)的買斷協(xié)議，他一下子失去了自我認(rèn)同感。從事記者這行已有30來年并多次獲獎的文斯科先生說，一直以來我都是一名出色的調(diào)查記者，然后突然之間，你不再是過去的你。你看著鏡子里的自己，不禁會問：“我是誰？”
許多工薪族都抱有關(guān)于職業(yè)、成就和專業(yè)地位的絕對自我認(rèn)同感，而一直以來，這些都被包裝成一個人的優(yōu)點。然而，隨著經(jīng)濟蕭條的逐步加深，強烈的自我認(rèn)同感卻作為心理缺陷被暴露出來。隨著越來越多的人擔(dān)心失業(yè)的問題，這種傾向可能會引發(fā)直接的恐慌。
位于紐約的美國認(rèn)知治療學(xué)院(American Institute for Cognitive Therapy)的主任羅伯特·李希(Robert Leahy)表示，這就像一個人把所有的投資都集中在一只股票上，而這只股票就是你的工作。在這種情況下，你會極為擔(dān)心失去自己的工作，一旦你真的失業(yè)了，你就會感到非常沮喪。
心理健康專家表示，對工作的過分認(rèn)同是經(jīng)濟蕭條時期焦慮和沮喪情緒大肆流行的眾多原因之一。當(dāng)然，擔(dān)心自己失去房子或者無法找到新工作很可能是是觸發(fā)這類情緒的更重要的因素。不過，與這些問題不同，自我認(rèn)知是一個在個人解決能力范圍之內(nèi)的問題，并不需要借助銀行貸款或者求職運氣等外力的推動。一個方法就是進(jìn)行心理練習(xí)，改變生活方式，結(jié)識新朋友。不過，旨在改變自我毀滅性思維和行為的認(rèn)知行為療法的基本原理表明，工作往往可以帶來長期的益處。
像藥物一樣，職業(yè)成功可以導(dǎo)致情緒高漲，而這種情緒很快會讓人感到不可或缺。重新抓住這種感覺可能需要越來越大的努力，而這種現(xiàn)象──不僅僅是簡單的貪婪──正是人們對于高額獎金和戰(zhàn)利品的不懈追求背后的驅(qū)動力。斯坦福大學(xué)(Stanford University)的精神病學(xué)專家、認(rèn)知行為治療領(lǐng)域的先導(dǎo)大衛(wèi)·本斯(David Burns)在他1980年的著作《開心感覺》('Feeling Good')中即表示，“有了金錢、成功和名譽之后…… 你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，你需要越來越大劑量的“興奮劑”才能保持情緒高漲?！?BR> 對于陷入此類情緒困境的人們來說，心理專家推薦的一種治療方法就是喚起對過去的美好回憶，想一想那些簡單的日子，那些沒有你現(xiàn)在認(rèn)為必不可少的事情的時光。李希博士對此解釋道，拿我自己來說，我已經(jīng)出版了很多著作，但是，當(dāng)我回首過去，我并不覺得現(xiàn)在比讀研究生的時候睡在地板上的床墊上來得更加快樂。
其它加劇自我成就感的因素包括與你想法類似的同事，他們可能都認(rèn)為豐厚的獎金、醫(yī)學(xué)的重大突破或者偉大的新聞報導(dǎo)是自我價值體現(xiàn)的途徑。一個解決辦法就是擴大自己的朋友和同事圈子，當(dāng)然這一點說起來容易，做起來難。
對于坐在備受他人尊敬的職位上的人來說，他們主要擔(dān)心的一點是一旦失去了現(xiàn)在的位子，他們可能會失去大家的尊重。心理治療專家表示，成就非凡的人經(jīng)常樹立不利于自己的雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，一方面他會對失業(yè)者表示同情，另一方面卻認(rèn)為失業(yè)只會帶給自己恥辱。
對于邁克爾·普拉克(Michael Precker)來說，失去地位本身還不如擔(dān)心失去地位的恐懼來得可怕。普拉克先生原是《達(dá)拉斯晨報》(Dallas Morning News)的資深駐外記者和編輯，2006年他接受了報方的買斷協(xié)議，現(xiàn)在在經(jīng)營一家高端脫衣舞俱樂部。他說，我當(dāng)時真的很想知道一旦切斷這層關(guān)系──《達(dá)拉斯晨報》的邁克爾·普拉克，我會怎么樣。但是，一切都比我想象得要簡單。我感覺很幸運。同樣，現(xiàn)在擔(dān)任堪薩斯城聯(lián)邦儲備銀行(Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City)高級社區(qū)事務(wù)顧問的文斯科先生工作得也很開心。
為了不使自己過于將自我認(rèn)知建立在職業(yè)地位之上，心理治療專家建議，想想那些無法被輕易帶走的品質(zhì)──美德、正直、誠實和慷慨，并以此為榮。他們還建議多花點時間和精力在家人、朋友和社區(qū)上。當(dāng)然，對工作的投入可以帶來成功。但是，心理治療專家表示，通過在一定程度上釋放壓力，增加一些平衡因素通常會有助于而不是有損于工作表現(xiàn)。
史蒂夫·羅曼(Steve Roman)在亞利桑那州第一大銀行擔(dān)任公共關(guān)系總監(jiān)，他擔(dān)任這個職務(wù)長達(dá)18年；2000年，他被迫接受銀行方面的買斷協(xié)議，這個消息甚至上了當(dāng)?shù)貓蠹?。他說，“這種關(guān)系的終結(jié)令人不安。這里的每個人都知道我是Bank One的史蒂夫·羅曼?！?BR> 如今，他在鳳凰城的一家通信公司展開了新的職業(yè)生涯，雖然不大引人注目，但是更有成就感，因為他就是這家公司的創(chuàng)始人和所有人。史蒂夫·羅曼說，更加令人滿足的是他的兩個孩子給與他的地位?！拔椰F(xiàn)在很喜歡說：我是凱爾·羅曼的爸爸。我是凱蒂·羅曼的爸爸?！?