![]() (You know, as opposed to the fact that real wages haven’t risen in decades.) “The idea of hustling glosses over the systemic economic problems and income inequality in the U.S., making it seem like if you’re struggling financially, it’s because you aren’t hustling hard enough,” says Eckler. Hard.īut instead of the physical and mental illnesses we encounter along the way acting as a wakeup call, they spark feelings of shame and guilt. “Our sense of value fluctuates wildly depending on how much we were able to do that day,” says Jo Eckler, PsyD, a Texas-based licensed clinical psychologist and author of I Can’t Fix You-Because You’re Not Broken.Īdd to this the health-related cuts we tend to make during the daily grind - too much screen-time, too little sleep, irregular eating patterns, barely-there exercise habits - and it’s a lifestyle that sets us up to crash. The belief that we are what we do, that we have to earn our place, that we’re only worthy of what we can produce sets us on a roller coaster of self-esteem highs and lows analogous to day trading. “It instead perpetuates a shame-based, outcome-driven culture.” So why do we do this to ourselves, exactly? “Hustle culture negatively impacts physical and mental wellbeing because it doesn’t teach us attunement, which is the connection between mind, body, and spirit necessary to achieve self-fulfillment,” says Toledo-based clinical psychotherapist Genevieve Rasik, LSW. Prolonged periods of elevated cortisol is associated with high blood pressure, high blood glucose, muscle and bone breakdown (leading to muscle wasting and osteoporosis), impaired immune system function (making you more likely to get sick), prolonged healing times after injuries, and even impaired formation of long-term memories. “Maintaining a heightened state of arousal is not sustainable and has negative effects on the body.” “The less rest you have, the more your stress levels and health can spiral out of control,” says Benjamin. In order for cortisol levels to return to normal, the body needs R&R on the regular - something that hustle culture doesn’t allow time for. Since hustle culture thrives on fight (fighting to keep up in a fast-paced office, fighting to successfully juggle multiple jobs), it keeps your body steeped in stress hormones. “A burst of cortisol readies the body to fight or flee from a dangerous situation,” says Stephanie Benjamin, MD, a California-based emergency medicine services physician. Regardless of your specific hustle-themed backstory, though, a body under constant stress reacts the same - by secreting the steroid hormone cortisol from the adrenal glands. You might be on a mission to break another glass ceiling, feel like you’re in competition with your peers, get asked to help with other people’s projects or side hustles, or thrive on the rush of being on a tight deadline. The reasons people get caught up in hustle culture are as endless as the hours they end up working. The Cons of Hustle Culture Are Pretty Major The drive to work harder, stronger, and faster might feel productive in the moment, but not knowing and recognizing your physical and emotional limits (or straight-up ignoring them) can be dire to your wellbeing. “Hustle culture is about being a human doing rather than a human being, which is dangerous in many ways,” says April Wilson, MD, chair of the preventative medicine department at Loma Linda University Health in California. ![]() Even though working long hours does typically lead to enticing rewards, including promotions and a larger client roster, many of us get so caught up in the adrenaline rush of the hustle that we lose sight of why we’re working so hard in the first place. Hustle culture is about being a human doing rather than a human being, which is dangerous in many ways.
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