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How does the achievement culture impact mental health and addiction recovery?
Pushing Back on the Pressure to Perform
2 min readSep 11, 2023
Here are a few thoughts to consider:
- Achievement culture can promote the idea that one’s self-worth and validation come from external accomplishments and recognition. This can lead to perfectionism, burnout, and low self-esteem when goals are not met.
- There is often social pressure and competition around achievement that can negatively impact mental health. Feeling like one has to constantly accomplish and succeed to have value can be exhausting.
- For those in addiction recovery, achievement culture may make it harder to practice self-care, vulnerability, and acceptance of limitations during the recovery process. There may be pressure to quickly “get back on track” rather than focusing on sustainable growth.
- On the other hand, having goals to work towards that provide a sense of purpose and meaning can be very positive for mental health and recovery. The key seems to be balancing ambition with self-compassion and not tying self-worth strictly to achievement.
- Recovery may require rejecting the idea that achievements and productivity define one’s value. Learning to rest, reconnect with oneself, and…
