What do you do when the career path you've created for yourself ends up running you into the ground?
Charlie Hoehn, author of new book Play It Away: A Workaholic's Cure for Anxiety, joined HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani to discuss the moment he knew he needed take a step back from his career and relearn how to enjoy life.
At age 25, Hoehn was living his dream in San Francisco as the director of special projects for bestselling author Tim Ferriss. But along with the dream came impossibly long work hours and demands that kept him plugged in 24/7. He realized his workaholic nature hit a severely unhealthy and unacceptable level when he secretly popped brain pills at a conference he had organized for his boss to stay awake the entire time.
"During that four-day event, I only slept six hours, and by the time I returned home, I could barely stand upright," said Hoehn. "It took me a while to realize it, but I really burned myself out... I wanted to be indispensable, I wanted to be the best in the world at my job."
When his work stress transformed into anxiety-induced trembling, panic attacks and urges to cry, Hoehn knew he needed a change. He read Play by Dr. Stuart Brown, which not only helped him discover what integral element was missing in his life but also inspired him to do something about it.
“It was like getting hit with a bucket of ice-cold water because I realized I was constantly depriving myself of play," he said. "In order to get back to health and to overcome my debilitating anxiety, I had to play and get outside and have fun with my friends, but also to just view my world and my life as a series of opportunities to have fun again."
Did you get a new job? New spouse? New city? We want to hear from you! Share your stories of life-changing breakthrough moments with HuffPost's Third Metric at themoment@huffingtonpost.com.