Brigitte Witzer. Executive Coach, Rednerin und Autorin. The pursuit of happiness

The search for ever more and how we can liberate ourselves from it

We’re all addicted…
The taboo: Why we always do our best and often lose.

We’re dependent on recognition and confirmation – and in their pursuit we often reach the limits of our strengths. Alcohol and nicotine help to extend these limits somewhat, shopping or running a marathon provides us with the satisfaction that our daily lives lacks. We’re always connected via mobile and Facebook but have less and less time for social contacts as our job and career demand all our energy. Almost all of us are more or less addicted though we often don’t realise it since many of our addictions don’t draw attention to themselves and are socially acceptable; the boundary where moderation in taste leaves off and addiction begins is a grey zone.

Or we just don’t want to know because that understanding would be associated with feelings of guilt and shame. Even experts conservatively estimate that in Germany more than every fourth person is addicted in one or another way. An alarming figure! In addition, a large number of relatives, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and colleagues suffer massively and most of them, like the addicts themselves, ignore the problem, and without realising it act as accomplices.