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Being a workaholic is rewarded in our society, even required by the new 24/7 workday expectations. But too often in my practice I see clients who have crashed into a state of chronic fatigue from overwork. Here in Cambridge, Mass., home of two major universities and people dedicated to a host of progressive causes, they are often overworking not for a boss but for a cause or a research study they feel is important. How to help them find better boundaries?
I explain to my clients that natural medicines cannot change their nature, however they can open up options, so that people have more freedom to choose. For example, they may choose to be a perfectionist in writing for a major publication but no longer iron their sheets and underwear. (These are all real life examples from my practice!)
I often find that the behavior undermining a client’s health and bringing her in desperation to my practice is simply an exaggerated version of a very positive behavior. She may be working hard for a non-profit or a political cause, or researching a new drug to save patients with a rare disease. In a typical scenario, someone is hired by a non-profit and finds herself working many hours a week overtime because the financially strapped organization cannot afford to provide her with support staff. Then the budget is cut yet again, and her hours are cut back, yet she finds herself expected to provide the same level of work. The expectation does not come explicitly from the organization, but rather from her own dedication to its goals and from the lack of anyone else to do her former job.
A year later she is so deeply exhausted that she can no longer work. A simple trip to the grocery store will land her in bed for three days. I always recommend a naturopath to help this type of client with blood tests and supplements for the thyroid and adrenals. My job is to shift her tendency to give of herself above and beyond the line of duty.
Causticum and Carcinosin are especially effective for these idealistic workaholics. People needing Causticum are fighters for the underdog who will go to the barricades for a cause they believe in, their arguments often carrying a sharp edge of righteous indignation. They may also be very anxious, especially about the health and welfare of their family members. When they’re very stressed, they manage their high levels of anxiety with OCD-type behavior. Repeated checking that the door is locked or the stove is off would be a typical pattern. As they become more unbalanced, the emotional stress may find an outlet in a physical symptom: the most common are tics and twitches like an eyelid twitch; a tendon/ligament problem like carpal tunnel syndrome; or even stress incontinence. (For older women who lose urine when they cough or sneeze or laugh, Causticum often relieves this symptom even if they don’t have the crusaders-for-a-cause.) personality profile.)
Carcinosin (an especially powerful natural medicine only available through homeopathic physicians) is also effective for idealistic workaholics, especially those who love nature, practice yoga and dream of world peace. Their favorite way to restore their energy might be to swim with the dolphins or go to a meditation retreat on a beautiful island. In their work, however, they are perfectionists driven by an internal standard that far exceeds what their boss expects. They are internally propelled, endlessly critiquing themselves, not because they are competing with others but because they feel anxious if they have not reached their impossible ideal. The physical symptoms associated with Carcinosin include insomnia (lying awake thinking of the to-do list for the next day) and in later stages, mono and chronic fatigue. (It is not used for cancer as the name might imply.)
What can we do for the workaholic motivated by competition, ambition, even greed? Nux vomica is a natural medicine known by practitioners as the “Donald Trump remedy” because it suits this type of driven, dominating personality. They are likely to wake up at 3 am thinking of how they can make more money! People needing this remedy tend to use stimulants including caffeine, cigarettes,drugs, junk food and spicy food to keep themselves going for long hours to get ahead of everyone else. The result is liver toxicity and problems in the GI tract, everything from heartburn to hemorrhoids. This type of person will not go to a health care professional for a medicine to help him slow down, but he may show up for his digestive problems.
Causticum and Nux vomica, available in health food stores and online, are suitable for home use if you are taking them for simple physical symptoms like urinary incontinence or heartburn. If you want to use natural medicines to help with a chronic physical problem or with an emotional state, they are best taken under the supervision of a trained professional: see www.homeopathic.org for one near you.
