Management consultant Diane Fassel, who has studied workaholism among her clients, suggests three stages of addiction for workaholics.
Early Stage. In this stage of work addiction, the worker tends to be constantly busy and tends to take on more than can realistically be done. He or she will put in lots of extra hours (even if not paid for the overtime) and cannot seem to find time to take days off. I even found with my addiction at this stage that I could never take two weeks in a row off because I would get stressed being away from work. (Does this sound familiar?)
Middle Stage. At this level of workaholism, our addict begins to distant himself from personal relationships. When he is home, he is distracted and emotionally stays at work. At this stage, the physical tolls often begin to manifest themselves. He may have trouble unwinding enough to get to sleep. He may feel tired all the time. He may tend to see a change in weight (gain or loss).
Late Stage. Those who are in the late stage of work addiction now tend to find the more serious physical and emotional symptoms like chronic headaches, elevated blood pressure, stomach ulcers and increased risk of stroke.
