Far more women executives experience stress than men with addiction problems common

Exclusive: Four in ten women in high-paid jobs say they take recreational drugs more than once a week – with three in ten saying they consume drugs during work day

Far more women in highly paid senior roles regularly experience stress than their male counterparts, according to a new study.

The report found around eight in 10 women in senior roles routinely grappled with stress – significantly higher than around six in ten male execs who said the same.

Researchers discovered around seven in ten female executives grapple with depression, with a third experiencing severe depression. While around half endure panic attacks and anxiety and three in ten say have experienced suicidal thoughts.

Meanwhile, four in ten women said they take recreational drugs more than once a week, with three in ten saying they consume drugs during the work day.

Researchers, who polled 1,000 business leaders who take home £75,000 a year or more, found around a third of women say they have struggled with alcohol, with roughly the same proportion confessing to drinking during work hours.

Around four in ten women said they suffer physical symptoms such as heart palpitations and headaches induced by work anxiety, while six in ten female execs were anxious work pressures had exerted enduring harm on their relationships.

While some 54 per cent of female execs reported using sex to relieve stress – substantially higher than the 32 per cent of men who said the same.

The research was carried out by The Dawn Rehab Thailand, which treats clients from around the world.

Alexandria Barley, a senior psychotherapist at The Dawn, said: “Many of our female clients appear to be the epitome of ‘having it all’ – on the surface only.

“They’ve reached the top at work and often have family commitments too. They might look like they’re successfully juggling, but they’re carrying a huge ‘mental load’ and managing an incredibly high level of responsibility – which isn’t sustainable without support, and often the support isn’t there.”

She said their clients often report finding it difficult to switch off and it is routine for them to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs instead of asking for help or being open about how they are really feeling.

Ms Barley added: “Often these unhealthy coping behaviours can spiral into what is known as ‘high-functioning addiction’. We also see just as many cases of burnout – a state of chronic physical and emotional fatigue that leads to feelings of detachment, demotivation, depression and anxiety.

“When a person is suffering burnout, they are usually at a point where they are no longer able to function in an efficient way in their personal and professional lives.

“Both high-functioning addiction and professional burnout are serious conditions that can escalate critically but the good thing is they can be treated.”

Almost half of the female execs polled have endured burnout – with one in six choosing to take up to three months off work as a direct consequence.

Laura*, a financial consultant, told The Independent she struggled with alcoholism and was drinking a bottle of wine every night at her worst.

“The issue was more the binge drinking at the weekends or social occasions,” the 44-year-old added. “I found it hard to limit the drinking and that brought lots of problems with it – unresolved issues came to the forefront and there were arguments with loved ones”.

She said her struggles with alcohol worsened after she had children as she explained it was then that she noticed she had a different relationship to alcohol to her peers.

Laura added: “As my freedom was taken away – I had little people to look after – I couldn’t be as selfish as I once was, that is when the resentments kicked in and that is when the alcohol took a hold on me.

“I was feeling all of these different emotions and I didn’t know how to deal with them and the alcohol always helped with that.”

Laura explained she drank heavily for two decades but finally went to rehab for alcohol addiction in October 2021 and has recently celebrated being sober for three years.

But she said going tee total was a struggle – adding that she attempted to stop drinking by herself for five years but found it really hard and wound up going into private rehab for a week, embarking on therapy and is now in alcoholics anonymous.

*Laura’s name has been changed to protect her identity