Are you the kind of person who is always willing to put in the extra work in order to succeed? Maybe you were always the last member of your team to leave the weight room. Maybe you took and retook college admission exams until you got the score you thought you needed to be admitted to your dream school. Maybe the boss has never beaten you to the office in the morning.
And maybe that has all paid off. Your achievements might include becoming a star athlete or a top student or next in line for promotion. You do the work, and you reap the rewards.
There is nothing wrong with that, right?
Well, that depends.
For some high achievers, the push to always be the best comes at a high cost. That cost might take the form of broken relationships or dangerously high stress levels or missed opportunities to take in the beauty of the world. And in some cases, that push for success can lead to the development of a substance use disorder.
High Achievers and Substance Use
At first blush, it might seem crazy that someone who is driven to succeed would risk everything by messing around with drugs or alcohol. But we need only look to the highest levels of sports to see how it might happen.
Athletes know performance-enhancing drugs are banned by their sports. They know they are often dangerous. And yet, many athletes take them anyway. They might be trying to bounce back from an injury more quickly. They might be trying to gain a competitive edge they can’t seem to acquire any other way. They might simply succumb to the mentality that anything that makes them better is by definition a good thing.
The same mindset is often found in people who are trying to achieve greatness in other areas of life. For example, Adderall—which is frequently prescribed to address attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as narcolepsy—is often used as a sort of performance-enhancing drug by striving students and ambitious employees looking to move up the ladder.
Because Adderall (and other stimulants) can improve focus and help a person maintain wakefulness over longer periods of time, it might seem like it provides a productivity boost with little to no downside. But of course that isn’t true. While there may be some short-term benefit of turning to drugs to enhance your productivity, there can be a long-term cost that arrives in the form of a substance use disorder.
Whether a person is pushing themselves because they grew up with parents who set extremely high expectations or because they want to prove to themselves and others that they just as good—better, even—than their peers or because they simply feel passionate about their endeavors and want to experience the rush of ongoing success, the pressure to succeed can lead to unwise choices.
Recovery is a Significant Form of Achievement
High achievers often struggle with the idea that they may need help. The idea runs counter to their view of themselves. Not only that, they may worry that if they admit to a problem like a substance use disorder, they will sacrifice all of the admiration and accomplishments that have piled up over the years.
To be sure, highly driven people don’t want anyone to think they somehow cheated their way to the top. Think back to our example of athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs and how often they deny doing so—even when the evidence that they have is clear as can be.
Thinking like this, however, can have terrible consequences. And so it is extremely important to shift the mindset of a high achiever who is using drugs or alcohol. Ideally, such a person can reframe their substance use disorder as a challenge to be overcome. Overcoming challenges, after all, is at the heart of the high-achieving lifestyle. Seeking treatment for a substance use disorder can rightfully be thought of as an achievement in and of itself.
Exploring the Motivation Behind the Drive
Therapy—both individual and group—is an important part of the treatment process. In therapy, a person may have the opportunity to explore the motivations behind their intense drive for success. Perhaps a mental health disorder is in play. Maybe trauma of one kind or another has led to a need to prove themselves over and over again. Or maybe they simply need to work toward finding a better balance in their lives so that the need to achieve doesn’t lead to illicit or harmful behavior.
Knowing the source of their personal drive can help ensure that they are better able to keep things in perspective, which in turn can help them maintain their sobriety once they leave treatment and start the recovery journey.
We Can Help You Achieve—and Maintain—Sobriety
Did you find yourself nodding along as you read about high achievers? Do you know someone whose need for success has led to problems with drugs or alcohol? Are you yourself struggling with this very problem? If so, we can help at Bel Aire Recovery Center. We are equipped to help you or a loved one overcome a substance use disorder—and to address any co-occurring mental health disorders that may accompany or contribute to it. You can rest assured that we are high achievers, too—and our most important achievement is helping you get and stay sober.
