This article, by New York Times reporter Sarah Kershaw, contains much great news.

Finally, the mental health community is embracing the notion of money disorders—beyond the old-school ones like kleptomania and Sex-in-the-Cityism (shopaholism).

There are many possible new disorder definitions and treatments emerging. But the favorite has to be workaholism. Don’t we all know about 5 dozen people who proudly proclaim themselves to be such? The ones I know seem utterly powerless over it, yet utterly proud of it. What a sick combo. (That’s like a certified alcoholic saying, “Watch me do all these shots!”)

In a recent seminar I led for graphic design professionals (“Your Big Break: Making and Taking Time for What Matters”), more than half of the participants said that they are workaholics. They did claim to want a Sabbatical someday. Hence, their attendance.

But the #1 obstacle they listed was workaholism. They’d all smile and headbob as another said the W word. Like they all belonged to some private club or were fanatic about some sports team.

It was hard, very hard, to know what to say to these folks. Usually, the #1 obstacle is lack of money. Workaholism is the new debt, perhaps?

This article mentions a survey from June 2008—before the market crash—that found that,

“75% of the more than 2,500 adults surveyed said money was the No. 1 source of stress in their lives.”

Sad. Market vagaries aside, truth is we live in a rich country. Most people could live within their means, they just don’t know how.

Maybe they DO have a disorder. Maybe, finally, they can get some professional help. And I’m not tawkin’ about seeing a stock jockey.