Earlier quoted context omitted.
Acute stress is good (adrenaline -> fight or flight), chronic stress is bad. So, worrying about money or being fired or all day every day will wear you down and limit your ability to reason. There's not much brainpower left over. This is why it's, for example, difficult to be super productive at work when you're going through a divorce or dealing with a breakup. And why it's never a good idea to launch a new product…
> Acute stress is good (adrenaline -> fight or flight) citation needed
The psychology of stress and burnout
21–30 of 216 posts
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#22Highly recommend Robert Sapolsky's work on this.
You can find his lectures on youtube, very educational and entertaining on Human Behavioural Biology. And more to the point his book, https://www.amazon.ca/Why-Zebras-Dont-Ulcers-Stress-Related/...
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#23A large part of why I left my business after eleven years six months ago was because I mismanaged stress to the degree that it had severe consequences upon my health.
At the time, like a frog in warming water, I constantly normalised it - working 20 hours a day for a year isn't stressful, it's heroic! I enjoy this! I thrive on stress. The booze? Oh, that's just to help keep me awake.
About four years ago I stopped eating and sleeping properly - I mean, previous to that I hadn't done either properly either, but four years ago it ceased to be voluntary. I lost huge amounts of weight. I told people I was on a diet. I started having bouts of delirium and puking that would put me out of action for days or weeks on end, unable to sip water even, slipping in and out of sweaty consciousness. I told myself I was just really unlucky with food poisoning.
About six months ago I just stopped - couldn't go on, couldn't face another day in the hell I'd created for myself, stomach knotted from anxiety and hunger but not hunger. Went on sabattical. Watched mountains for months. Read. Cried. Ranted and raved. Began to heal. Got medical help. Discovered that I had given myself a stress driven syndrome not really seen since children in fucking Victorian workhouses - cyclical vomiting syndrome.
Gave notice. Sold equity to company, made orderly transition. Three months on, I'm still coming to terms - beginning to remember wanting things, having desires, not feeling like every moment not spent working was a betrayal - being able to feel something like joy. Above everything else, I haven't puked in months and I'm even beginning to have to watch my weight.
The main thing I've learned on reflection is that I did this to myself. I chose roles and responsibilities that crushed me, and I failed to emotionally disinvest in the company as it grew. I also habituated stress to the degree that I didn't even perceive it as stress, and denied it to myself even as I ground my teeth to aching stumps. In hindsight, I can of course aim to not put myself in the same situation again, but at the time I had nothing to really check my reality against. People around me were supportive - but rather than saying "hey, you're killing yourself", it would be "want another coffee? Need smokes? You work so hard." - so essentially enabled the behaviour rather than confronting it. There's an almost dangerously cultish obsession with industriousness in our society.
I digress.
The other thing I learned that I hadn't really understood was that stress can ruin your physical, not just mental, health.
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#24I have a friend that is to damn good as a developer and allowed one of the big Canadian companies failed projects to burn him out thoroughly.
He is looking into opening a bakery now, and by the look of it, no amount of convincing is going to change his mind.
So no matter what you do, your mental robustness and coherency comes first. Don't let anybody every come close at touching that.
Btw opening a bakery is an amazing prospect if you go into it full force ahead, with happy thoughts and planning. Opening one as a result of a burnout, well I guess it can be therapeutic, but not sure about the validity of the idea in that case. Taking half a year off everything can probably bring you more life force at your disposal.
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#25I have a friend that is to damn good as a developer and allowed one of the big Canadian companies failed projects to burn him out thoroughly. He is looking into opening a bakery now, and by the look of it, no amount of convincing is going to change his mind. So no matter what you do, your mental robustness and coherency comes first. Don't let anybody every come close at touching that. Btw opening a bakery is an amazi…
Stressed and burned out so he is opening a food business? What??
I operate a restaurant and I know about 50 people who do. Believe me - there is no shortage of stress and your just as likely, if not more so, to get burned out.
Tell your friend to seriously think twice...
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#26It's all in your head, for better or worse. Extreme sports or intense physical exertion have been key, for me, in dealing with daily stress. And no, I'm not some superstar adrenaline pumped athlete, just an amateur that loves skydiving/paragliding/fast motorcycles/hiking/etc over the weekend. I didn't realize how much these activities help me, until I had to take a break from them for whatever reason (e.g.: winter wh…
I've found the same outlet in racing cars, soccer, and working out. I've actually told people before that I think the reason racing helps so much is that you are absolutely 100% focused on the task at hand when you're being the wheel, which means no work or personal stress at all for the time you're on the track. Soccer is one of the few things I do that allows me to interact with people in a completely different pro…
> I've actually told people before that I think the reason racing helps so much is that you are absolutely 100% focused on the task at hand when you're being the wheel, which means no work or personal stress at all for the time you're on the track.
That 100% focus is probably it then, you're basically relieved from stress for the duration because you don't have time to think about it like when you're "idle".
And the risk of crashing because of wandering thoughts is a pretty good motivator to be focused 100% :)
> And working out gives me a sense of accomplishment completely divorced from my career, which I can carry with me all day in the way I feel physically.
That feeling!
While actually doing it you might, or might not, actually enjoy it, but that whole feeling in your body after you're done... it truly feels like a really rewarding accomplishment.
> Another outlet my dad once suggested was reading fiction as a way to remind yourself there's more to the world than your world and to keep things in context.
It works, but I find that fades pretty quickly, you need to do it really often to persist it.
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#27It's all in your head, for better or worse. Extreme sports or intense physical exertion have been key, for me, in dealing with daily stress. And no, I'm not some superstar adrenaline pumped athlete, just an amateur that loves skydiving/paragliding/fast motorcycles/hiking/etc over the weekend. I didn't realize how much these activities help me, until I had to take a break from them for whatever reason (e.g.: winter wh…
I've had similar, but not with skydiving. I've only done one dive, and it was pleasant, lovely view, but did absolutely nothing for me in terms of adrenaline, at all. What did work for me was commuting by cycle in London, flat out race with everything for 10km. Legs burning, drop the temperature, maybe some snow in the eyes, bring on the elements. Great stuff. Winter is great for that, cold at first, but ride hard, w…
> [...] but did absolutely nothing for me in terms of adrenaline [...]
I don't (think) I'm doing it for the adrenaline, that would have faded sometime in the last 10 years.
Besides, as you said, you can get that cheaper/faster by riding a bicycle in rush hour traffic or standing near a ledge.
I think it's the 100% focus that does it, which sounds similar to what you describe with racing mode.
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#28Burnout is caused by a series of failures. Your brain is quick to pick up patterns and will assume your next attempt will be a failure.
To get over burnout, you need a series of successes. Create small, attainable goals and complete them. Engineers in particular need a sense of accomplishment. This way you will look forward to you next endeavor instead of dread it.
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#29Drink hot water and go for one hour early morning walk;
I don't know about the hot water, but definitely taking my dog for a 3-4 mile walk around town every morning helps me out. Days that it's crappy outside or I get rushed up and don't have time to do it, I'm considerably more irritable and less willing to put up with the bs.
Re: The psychology of stress and burnout
#30It's all in your head, for better or worse. Extreme sports or intense physical exertion have been key, for me, in dealing with daily stress. And no, I'm not some superstar adrenaline pumped athlete, just an amateur that loves skydiving/paragliding/fast motorcycles/hiking/etc over the weekend. I didn't realize how much these activities help me, until I had to take a break from them for whatever reason (e.g.: winter wh…
I've had similar, but not with skydiving. I've only done one dive, and it was pleasant, lovely view, but did absolutely nothing for me in terms of adrenaline, at all. What did work for me was commuting by cycle in London, flat out race with everything for 10km. Legs burning, drop the temperature, maybe some snow in the eyes, bring on the elements. Great stuff. Winter is great for that, cold at first, but ride hard, w…
I love cycling in London, because it teaches me not to be shy.
But once that lesson is learned -- there's not much need for adrenaline. Just rational aggression.