A laid-off techie has shared an experience of developing hypertension in 20s after months of extreme work stress and job insecurity.
“Hustle culture didn’t make me successful. It gave me hypertension in my early 20’s,” the caption of the post reads.
According to the post, the journey began with a campus placement in a data science role.
The company was going through repeated layoffs, which created constant fear among employees. To stay employed, the techie worked more than 12 hours a day, often without proper rest.
Despite the effort, the job ended after just four months due to another round of layoffs.
After the layoff, the techie secured an internship at a product-based company. However, the pressure continued.
“Long hours, high pressure. I worked relentlessly, hoping to convert it into a full-time role. It didn’t happen. By then, the damage was already done,” the post adds.
By this time, the impact on health had already started to show. The techie shared experiencing constant fatigue, high stress, and rising blood pressure. Medical tests confirmed hypertension, and medication had to be started, possibly for life.
The techie shared the post as a warning for others navigating similar work environments.
“Hard work does not guarantee security. Ignoring your body guarantees consequences. If you’re living on caffeine, eating high-sodium food like pizza, burgers, Maggi, sleeping poorly, and telling yourself you’ll fix it later, please stop and rethink,” the post adds.
Reddit reacts:
The post drew strong reactions online, with users noting that the post reflected the pressures of modern tech jobs.
One of the users commented, “Same here, high resting heart rate near 100 and high BP, had to start taking BP medication.”
A second user commented, “I am honestly tired of this rat race. I wish I had the capital to move to some secluded corner of earth and live out my days peacefully.”
“My medicine and my father’s medicine are almost the same. I have stage 2 hypertension at 23,” another user commented.