AMBITION OR TRAUMA?

AMBITIOUS OR TRAUMATIZED: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OVERWORK AND PAST TRAUMA

Experiencing trauma can lead to all sorts of negative consequences but did you realize that it might lead to work addiction?

Research is sparse, but anecdotal evidence is there, and some therapists see a connection. Could a workaholic – someone who overworks to the detriment of all other areas of life – really be self-medicating to deal with the bad stuff he or she has lived with?

Tanya Paperny is a writer, artist, and editor living in Washington, D.C., and she explored that connection in an article that appeared in the Atlantic. Her work also appears in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, The Literary Review, VICE, PANK, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Public Pool, Pacific Standard, and elsewhere. Tanya is the recipient of fellowships from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Vermont Studio Center, and OMI International Arts Center. She is at work on a collection about violence, trauma, and resilience.

Join us as we talk about what she discovered in writing the article, “Do Some Trauma Survivors Cope by Overworking?”

Airing Saturday, January 5, at 11 AM Pacific Time, and available thereafter through the archive at www.blogtalkradio.com/3women3ways.