Substances

High‑performance addicts

High‑performing individuals – in finance, business, medicine, law, and other fields – often become masters of disguise:

→ Their careers continue.

→ Their social roles appear intact.

→ Their consumption is rationalized as “necessary” or “under control.”

On the surface, they function. Underneath, they gradually lose:

→ flexibility,

→ genuine rest,

→ and the ability to say “no” without destabilizing their entire system.

In these contexts, the question is rarely “What does the substance do in the system?” but:

→ “What role does it play in the architecture of this person’s life?”

→ “What would collapse if we removed it tomorrow?”

→ “What other dependencies would immediately take over?”

Substances, behaviours, systems

For this reason, I rarely look at substances in isolation.

Instead, I map:

→ Substances– What is used? How often? In what combinations?

→ Behaviours– Work patterns, digital habits, relational dynamics, risk‑taking.

→ Systems– Professional environment, family structures, economic constraints, cultural expectations.

Often the substance is:

→ a symptom of a deeper dependency (e.g. on recognition, control, speed, avoidance),

→ or one element in a chain of cross‑dependencies that keeps the overall system in a fragile balance.

Why this matters for change

If we see substances only as enemies to be removed, we risk:

→ destabilizing lives without offering functional replacements,

→ or simply pushing people from one substance to another behaviourally similar pattern.

If we see substances as part of a broader dependency management system, we can:

→ understand what role they play,

→ design realistic withdrawal or reduction strategies,

→ and build new structures that make the old configuration unnecessary.

This systemic view is central to my work – and it is one of the reasons why future projects like LEERZEIT will go far beyond simple substance lists.