Unlearning the Hustle: Discovering Worth Outside of Productivity With an Eating Disorder Therapist for Athletes in NJ
I hear so many athletes come in the door feeling guilty for resting after a long season or an injury. Hustle culture among sports makes us feel like we have to keep pushing and can’t stop until we succeed. This shows up in a unique way for athletes, and the needle always seems to move whenever we get to the next achievement.
The “no days off” glorifies the grind, connecting identity to output. This mindset is not only reinforced by coaches and teammates but also by social media and sponsorship culture. The purpose of this article is to explore how an eating disorder therapist for athletes in NJ can help athletes unlearn this mindset and find self-worth beyond performance.
The Harm of the Hustle: When Productivity Becomes a Proxy for Self-Worth
First, let’s touch on some common symptoms of overtraining and burnout because those are two of the first things that I think of when I think of hustle culture. When you experience overtraining and burnout, you may feel chronic fatigue, emotional exhaustion, irritability, and increased injury. This can leave you struggling to get through workouts and having difficulty recovering properly.
Coping with overtraining and burnout is tough, and athletes often find themselves leaning towards disordered eating as a coping strategy. Using food restriction or compulsive exercise to feel in control or feel as if you are doing “whatever it takes” ultimately can lead you down a scary and dangerous path. This desire to keep pushing and achieving stems from perfectionism, a common characteristic in athletes and those who struggle with eating disorders. All of this being said, overtraining and burnout tend to lead to a loss of joy in sport and life. When every action is about proving something rather than enjoying the experience, the joy disappears.
What Athletes Learn in Therapy: Challenging Productivity Culture
In eating disorder therapy, athletes begin the challenging work of separating their self-worth from constant performance. This is not just about competing less or doing fewer reps. It is about redefining identity beyond output. For many, worth has long been tied to achievement. This can look like the fastest split, about of goals, or the most hours trained. Undoing this mindset takes time, support, and intentional reflection.
One of the first steps is unpacking the messages that shaped your relationship with productivity. This means exploring the different influences of early praise from parents or coaches that emphasized success, pressure to always be pushing and working, and the internal self-talk that equates rest with laziness. Therapy provides you with a safe space to notice these patterns and understand how they show up, not just in sport but in relationships, school, and body image.
Athletes also work to reconnect with values that exist outside of performance. This might involve exploring parts of themselves that have gone quiet, such as creativity, connection, curiosity, or humor. Identifying and working towards these values helps athletes build a fulfilled and more balanced sense of self. Values can be difficult to identify if you feel like your value is based in your sport. Oftentimes in reflecting on values, I ask clients to think of someone that they look up to and ask themselves the question of “What do you respect and love about this person?”.
Therapy ultimately creates space to name and challenge hustle culture directly. The “no days off” mindset may be glorified in sports, but it can lead to burnout, injury, and disordered eating. Learning to call out this toxicity becomes an empowering part of recovery. Therapy does not remove an athlete’s ambition; it reorients it towards longevity, overall health, and joy.
The Recovery Shift: Reclaiming Rest and Redefining Success
Making this shift is a tool for longevity, not a weakness. Recovery includes things such as sleep, downtime, and time with friends. All of these will ultimately help improve performance, not slow you down. Creating goals and celebrating the small, non-performance-based wins can help you feel successful in recovery. This can look like resting without guilt, honoring your hunger/fullness cues, or saying no to extra workouts. Reclaiming rest takes a balance of discipline and flexibility. Structure and goals are not a bad thing without rigidity.
How an Eating Disorder Therapist for Athletes in NJ Can Help
Take some time after reading this to reflect on where you find your sense of worth. Does it come from the score or the time on the clock, or who you are off the field? Unlearning hustle culture is a process, and you don’t need to do it alone. If you are an athlete in NJ who feels stuck in the grind, I’d love to help you explore life beyond the hustle.
Specializing in understanding both eating disorders and athletic culture is unique. Through my own athletic career and my experience working in the eating disorder field, I come with an understanding of both aspects and how they intersect. At Serendipity Counseling Services, therapy can run alongside sport, not against it. It’s not about giving up competition; it is about competing with compassion.
Ready to Unlearn the Hustle with Eating Disorder Therapy in Cherry Hill, NJ?
If constant pressure to perform has ever made you feel like your worth depends on output, you’re not alone. Many athletes struggle to separate their identity from productivity, making it hard to rest, recover, or feel valuable outside of achievement. Working with an eating disorder therapist for athletes in NJ can help you step back from hustle culture, redefine balance, and discover self-worth that isn’t tied to performance.
Here’s how to get started with Serendipity Counseling Services:
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to share your story and explore how therapy can support your recovery.
Book your first eating disorder therapy session and begin unpacking the pressures, habits, and beliefs that keep you tied to overworking.
Start building a new foundation of self-worth that values rest, healing, and identity beyond productivity.
Your value isn’t measured by how much you do. Let’s work together to help you truly believe that.
More Services Available at Serendipity Counseling in Cherry Hill, NJ
In addition to providing eating disorder therapy for athletes, I offer tailored guidance for runners and regularly speak on the impact of diet culture in athletics through speaking engagements.
I also facilitate a virtual Retired Athlete Support Group, giving former athletes a supportive community to navigate post-sport transitions and rediscover their identity outside of performance.
For families, I provide family-based therapy designed to strengthen communication, foster understanding, and build a solid foundation for recovery that lasts.
About the Author: Compassionate Eating Disorder Therapist for Athletes in NJ
Kate Ringwood, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and the founder of Serendipity Counseling Services. She specializes in helping athletes in Cherry Hill, NJ, navigate eating disorder recovery with care and understanding. As a former competitive runner, Kate has firsthand knowledge of how sports culture can link identity, body image, and food in complex ways.
Her approach blends evidence-based strategies with warmth and empathy, ensuring clients feel supported as they rebuild trust with themselves and their bodies. Beyond her clinical work, Kate is a passionate mental health advocate who regularly contributes to podcasts and speaking events, challenging toxic narratives in athletics and encouraging healthier, more sustainable perspectives on performance and well-being.
