Prolific British screenwriter and playwright James Graham has revealed that he has been diagnosed as a workaholic, describing addiction as “no different really from alcohol or drugs or sex”.
Graham appeared on the BBC Desert Island Discs Yesterday he spoke about the problem, which he said prompted him to seek help from family and friends and eventually attend Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
“I knew something wasn’t quite right in my late 20s,” he said. Sherwood And Brexit: The Uncivil War writer. “I would go into periods where I would be very isolated or sabotage my relationships as soon as they became intimate and important. I was constantly working around the clock and not taking care of myself.”
He added: “The moment I realized I had a problem was when I started lying to my family and friends about stupid things like saying I woke up at 8am when in reality I woke up at 5. Or I realized I wasn’t going to eat for a day.”
Graham said he was attending meetings over the winter when he was talking to “a woman who might have saved me” and she suddenly said, “Why don’t you wear a coat?”
He added: “It was winter and cold outside, and I was wearing a flimsy piece of paper, as I did not have time to go out and buy a winter coat.” “I brushed it aside and was frustrated with her but to her it was a symptom of not being able to take care of myself. I took that on the chin and went to a group.
Graham described the problem as “not a real disease”, but said it was an addiction that was “no different really from alcohol or drugs or sex”, although it is not taken seriously.
“I realized (in meetings) that this pattern of behavior is slowly killing you. People talked about the people they lost because of it.
Graham is undoubtedly one of the most prolific British screenwriters and playwrights of the last two decades. The 41-year-old’s television work includes Sherwood Road Quiz And Brexit: The Uncivil War, Along with an episode of the crown. He has written around 30 plays over the past 20 years, including one starring Joseph Fiennes and the soon-to-be BBC drama. Dear Englandand at one point two plays were running in London’s West End at the same time.
He continued: “90% of me was happy and proud of it after playing two games at the same time, but 10% looked at the lights and thought it was part of the problem. Then everyone says how great it is and that feeds the self-validation cycle, and you say to yourself: ‘Well, why not?’ I’m doing three plays at the same time, why not four times?”
Although he now feels he has a better balance, Graham said he faces daily dilemmas because being a writer “gives me so much joy, value and happiness.”
During extended desert island tablets, Graham also spoke of feeling “extremely frightened and intimidated” when he met Rupert Murdoch on the opening night of his play in the West End. ink, Which tells the story of the Australian media baron’s ownership of The Sun newspaper.
He added: “I was afraid in the period leading up to this meeting, but as often happens, it was very normal.” “You hope to come up with a very good tale at a dinner party, but in reality it was a particularly deliberate case of not revealing anything.”