Workaholics might hate vacations, but medical studies suggest that they benefit from them anyway, a psychiatrist said.
Kaohsiung psychiatrist Fan Le-qun (范樂群) said that workaholism is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, with sufferers driven by an inner compulsion to work and finding it difficult to turn off in their free time.
He said that people came to his clinic with a variety of symptoms following the end of the four-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, such as negative feelings and unhealthy behaviors including lethargy, loneliness, overeating, general loss of interest and self-esteem, anxiety or depression.
CULTURAL BIAS
In East Asian nations, holidays bring additional emotional distress to workaholics because their culture views taking time off as slovenly and irresponsible, he added.
However, a recent study published in the journal Stress and Health found that workaholics still need vacations and benefit from them like everybody else, Fan said.
The study, which surveyed 54 people during their summer vacations, found that participants reported more positive and constructive thoughts as a result of not being at work, including among those classified as workaholics, he said.
It is important for their mental health that workaholics change their belief systems relating to work and rest, Fan said, adding that to avoid feeling disappointed or empty during vacations, they should make vacation plans that include a list of goals and activities, such as making travel arrangements or dedicating time to developing hobbies or interests.
John Tung Foundation mental health center director Yeh Ya-hsing (葉雅馨) said that taking vacations is important to separate work and life.
Ye suggested that people should try to occupy their time off by doing things that are likely to make them happy, such as exercising in parks, watching a movie at a theater or hanging out in a coffee shop, and they should avoid forcing themselves to engage in activities they do not enjoy.
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