Definition: The soul-sucking hamster wheel of modern survival: working exhausting hours to afford processed food, polluted air, and bills, while drowning in debt and existential dread. This relentless grind silently spikes cortisol, wrecks sleep, and erodes physical/mental health, all normalized as “hustle culture.”
It’s the crushing cycle where you trade well-being for basic stability, knowing it’s toxic but feeling trapped. Society glorifies the burnout, masking it as ambition, while your body tallies the damage. Just existing shouldn’t feel this lethal… but IN THIS ECONOMY?
Example:
Working 70-hour weeks to cover rent and loans, he survives on fast food and caffeine, his constant anxiety a symptom of the normalized grind.
Society applauds her burnout as dedication, ignoring the insomnia and stress-induced illness piling up while she struggles just to stay afloat financially.