Are You Addicted to Work Stress?

The phone rings. The buzzer dings. Another email piles up in your inbox.

Even on vacation, you’re stealing glances at your laptop (which, yes, came with you to the beach), and your mind drifts to the mounting to-do list waiting on the other side of “quality time” at the pool with your kids.

Maybe a few quiet moments feel less like rest and more like guilt. That “wasted” space? It’s keeping you from doing something important.

Sound familiar? If not, feel free to click away.

But if any of this hit home—take a breath. You’re not alone.

A recent OnePoll study found that nearly half of employed Americans consider themselves modern-day workaholics. Personally, I don’t love that term—probably because I’m a recovering one myself—but regardless of the label, many of us find it hard to turn work off.

I didn’t even realize how hooked I was on the buzz of stress and urgency until I stepped away from my corporate role.

For twenty years, I kept my head down, my responses fast, and my phone close. Even when I negotiated a reduced schedule to create space for passion projects and family time, I still felt the grip of always being on.

When I left, I expected to feel relief. Instead, I found myself wildly uncomfortable with the slower rhythm that followed.

Shifting into teaching and studying meant fewer audit emergencies, fewer flooded inboxes. But the habit of checking in, of staying busy, was hard to break. I spent about a year in what I call a stress detox—rebuilding my energy, learning to live from a grounded nervous system instead of constant fight-or-flight. And in that process, I discovered something big:

We’re not meant to live in overdrive.

Now that I’ve experienced life with more ebb and flow, I’m acutely aware when my old patterns try to sneak back in. That urge to be needed, to stay plugged in, is a real and powerful pull. But it’s not where freedom lives.

So—what can you do if you’re trying to break free from the work-stress cycle?

A former colleague asked me this recently, and here’s what I told him:

• Get grounded in your body. Take a walk in nature each day. No AirPods. No multitasking. Just you, your breath, and the world around you.

• Let your mind wander. Your brain needs space to daydream. Creative practices like art, dance, or singing can help “clear the cache” and ease stress.

• Find a hobby—especially one you’re not good at. Joy doesn’t have to be productive.

• Leave your phone behind when you're with your family. (RBG once said what made her such a good justice was leaving work at work and being fully present with her kids in the evenings.)

• Expect the discomfort. Detox takes time. Keep going.

And now I’ll ask you: What helps you manage the stress of work in your life?

Share in the comments.

For the world needs who we were made to be.