While there are plenty of benefits of working hard, doing so to the extreme can also take a toll on your mental health, physical health, and even your relationships with those in your life. If you honestly feel as though you're a workaholic, it can be beneficial to seek help from a mental health professional who will be able to talk to you about some of the reasons that you may be behaving in this manner, as well as introduce some healthy habits that you can adopt to lead more of a balanced lifestyle. There are several potential reasons that you may be a workaholic, including the following.

You Grew Up Poor

Sometimes, it's possible to connect your workaholic nature with the lack of opportunities you had when you were younger. For example, if your parents were not well off and you grew up poor as a result, you'll likely have experienced having to go without certain things. It's understandable that you won't want your children to go through what you went through, which is why you've perhaps developed workaholic tendencies. If your parents couldn't afford to send you to college, for instance, you likely want to be able to put your own kids through school — and you may believe that a workaholic nature is necessary.

Your Parents Said You Were Lazy

As you'll soon learn from your mental health counselor, the way in which you were raised can have an impact on your behavior, even decades later. Perhaps your parents labeled you as lazy as a teenager — and maybe you even were at times. Being called lazy, however, doesn't feel good, and it's natural to want to prove your parents and this label wrong. One way that you might have tried to do so is by working excessively. In other words, no one can think that you're lazy if you're working 65 hours a week.

You Have A "Never Enough" Mentality

Some workaholics continue to push themselves because they're never satisfied. You might be making six figures a year and leading a comfortable lifestyle, but you could always want more. This feeling of longing can be problematic because it can often leave you feeling as though there are voids in your life. For example, you could drive an $80,000 sports car but want one that costs $120,000 — and feel that being a workaholic is the way to get there. Your mental health therapist can be a helpful ally in helping you to work through this issue and, ideally, generate more balance in your life.

Contact a company like Serenity Mental Health for more information and assistance.