The “sigma grindset” preached by manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate has far-reaching implications, not just for mental health, but safety in our society.
Dr M Zakiul Abrar
“Morar Aag Porjonto Porte Hobe…”
The YouTuber’s mantra hits differently at 4 a.m., as you clear up the clutter of notes to make space on your bed. The guilt of missing a public university by 1.5 marks is fresh, but tonight you learned that it makes you the “hungry wolf.”
The alarm rings at exactly 8:57 a.m., because 5 hours would be weakness. You roll off the bed, splash cold water on a face that hasn’t seen proper sleep in months, and open the notebook again. The Snooze button is for the 99%.
This is the grind. This is the path.
For a youth that lost two years of natural psychosocial development to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the new normal. No friendships, no sports, no festivals, no debates, and no projects for two years. Scrambling to find your place in the world for two more years, and then July 2024 happens. So you go back to the grind, because 2025 will be your year.
This is the “Sigma Grindset,” derived from the Western far-right concept of the “sigma” male who rejects the system of dominants (alpha) and subordinates (beta). This is a flawed premise resulting from a misinterpretation of wolf packs, and these lettered classifications do not exist in psychology. The term is still used for pop-culture icons like John Wick and Thomas Shelby who achieve success through resilience, detachment, and an uncompromising devotion to their craft.
Is the math mathing?
The problem is that a video titled “How to think like Thomas Shelby” cannot teach you to become Thomas Shelby, and will still be massively popular. TikTok videos on how to be a successful entrepreneur are not actually made by successful entrepreneurs. The 90% who understand this do not lessen the impact on the 10% who do not.
Bangladesh does not have a Western individualistic society, but we rank second in the world for the number of freelancers with more than 650,000 active entities. Around 13.5% of university graduates are unemployed for up to two years. The COVID-19 pandemic only made it worse for them and robbed two years of natural psychosocial learning for students. No friends, no sports, no festivals, no debates, and no projects for two years, then scrambling to find your place in the world for two more.
Suicide ranks the second-highest cause of death in Bangladesh, 71% of which occurs under the age of 19, with academic stress consistently among the top three precipitants. And then July 2024 happens, and you lose what little faith you had in the system. You rebel against the hierarchy by grinding harder and freelancing into algorithmic servitude. You abandon social connections to chase autonomy, like the same sigma male from the Western far-right.
When the bass drops
Bangladeshi boys were already living under the “provider or loser” narrative. When success proves impossible, they escalate dominance over women. Pandemic-fuelled misogyny fuses manosphere logic with Bengali family politics. For young women, the burden is doubled. They’re expected to adopt the same relentless grind as their male counterparts while simultaneously managing household responsibilities, emotional labour, and the constant threat of violence. All while navigating a society that still measures their worth by marriage prospects and domestic skills. Clinically, we see young women presenting with complex trauma: achievement anxiety fused with internalised misogyny, body dysmorphia masked as “fitness discipline,” and relational avoidance disguised as “self-protection.”
The most radical act of resistance in a system that profits from your exhaustion is to rest, and reclaim your humanity. To call a friend just to hear their voice. To attend a festival without calculating the “opportunity cost.” Minors are taking their own lives for failing in exams, so it’s high time that families stopped tying our worth to productivity and started taking mental health seriously.
Of course, we need reforms in education, mental health, labour protection, and media literacy. We also need the courage to set boundaries, and the wisdom to feel deeply while maintaining stability.
To the student staring at their notebook at 4 a.m., wondering if five hours of sleep would make you weak: close the book. Turn off the screen. Call someone you miss. Your worth was never in your grind. It was always in your humanity.
The world won’t end if you rest. In fact, it might finally begin.
Dr. M. Zakiul Abrar is a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, and subject matter expert in Conflict & Crisis Intervention