The Mental Health Drawbacks of High-Pressure, Success-First Culture and NOTES ON INFINITY
- Marisa Gelfand
- Aug 4
- 2 min read
Zoe had big shoes to fill—and the pressure nearly hollowed her out. Her father was a professor at MIT, and her brother was well on his way to a career in the sciences. Zoe herself was bright and driven, willing to sacrifice her social life and extracurriculars in pursuit of excellence.
When she matriculated at Harvard, it seemed she was finally on the path to living up to her own lofty expectations. She thrived in her classes, secured a position in a top-tier lab working on cutting-edge research, and partnered with the most brilliant, hardworking, and creative student she knew—Jack.
Together, Zoe and Jack developed a groundbreaking theory on human longevity. Fueled by ambition, they dropped out of Harvard to seek funding and launched a company. Think Theranos—both in its dazzling rise and its catastrophic fall.
Zoe was crushed under the weight of expectations—from herself, her family, her academic peers, and eventually the broader world. We live in a time when teens and young adults are pushed to achieve at all costs, and that pressure can do real harm. Even high-performing students can feel they’re never enough, despite giving everything they have. This often leads to anxiety, depression, and substance use—and, sometimes, catastrophic decisions born from stress and still-developing brains.
Here are tools to help teens and college students avoid the mental health drawbacks of high-pressure success-first culture.
Set Realistic Expectations: Focus on short term, achievable goals. Highlight the importance of growth, effort, and progress over perfection. Recognizing each person’s unique capabilities.
Promote Balance and Self-Care: Prioritize sleep, hobbies, interests, and healthy habits. Academic success should never come at the cost of mental or physical well-being.
Model Healthy Coping: Demonstrate healthy coping skills in the face of stress or setbacks. Discuss values beyond achievements and reframe the concept of perfection by acknowledging that mistakes are an integral part of the learning process.
