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Recovering from Burnout and Depression

kierantie.com

21–30 of 266 posts

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#21
post #2

Why do I never read articles targeted at other high-stress jobs (lawyer, med student, etc etc)? Do software engineers have a unique culture that identifies this danger? Or are we the only ones that get burned out, maybe because of some self-selection into the field?

"If you're reading it, it's for you"

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#22

Everything in that list is happening for me right now, with perhaps the exception of the mismatch between my values and my company's. I tell my manager about it and he has been trying to rearrange things to try to help me, but I feel like there is probably a reason things got to be this shitty, and that reason will probably keep on happening. I don't know what to do. My last workplace was bad in many of the same ways…

Same. I guess my only option is to take months off, but can't really afford to...

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#23
post #15

I think a big factor in burnout is that most work is ultimately meaningless, or even morally wrong, and on a deep level, we're aware of that. Why is it so hard to make yourself work? Probably because you actually should be doing something else with your life. If someone paid you money to kick a dog, you'd feel a strong urge to do something else. That's because you shouldn't kick dogs. But when we feel the same urge t…

I don't think this is true. Occupations that have very positive social impact can have very high burnout rates--it's not as if burnout and depression are unheard of among teachers and social workers, for instance.

You're confusing cause and effect, to a certain degree. The feeling that your work is meaningless can be a symptom of burnout itself. People who do work that clearly improves other people's lives can still feel that their work is meaningless.

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#24
post #2

Why do I never read articles targeted at other high-stress jobs (lawyer, med student, etc etc)? Do software engineers have a unique culture that identifies this danger? Or are we the only ones that get burned out, maybe because of some self-selection into the field?

One difference that is relevant to the OP is that IT management is very difficult and very different to development. Also managing devs is often like herding cats. Turnover is often high, everyone wants to do their own thing, communication skills are often sub-optimal and external deadlines are often tight.

So Devs are promoted into a difficult job without having good management skills, or often even a desire to be the boss.

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#25

Hey everyone - thanks so much for reading! Burnout and depression is a topic that not enough of us talk about, even though that's often the best solution. If you know anyone struggling with burnout or depression, or you just enjoyed my article, I'd be forever grateful if you'd share it with them on Twitter or Facebook, to help spread the word. Thanks so much!

Fellow Coloradoan here. Just wanted to say thank you for writing this. I'm going through a very difficult time in my professional life and needed to read that. Thanks again!

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#26

Everything in that list is happening for me right now, with perhaps the exception of the mismatch between my values and my company's. I tell my manager about it and he has been trying to rearrange things to try to help me, but I feel like there is probably a reason things got to be this shitty, and that reason will probably keep on happening. I don't know what to do. My last workplace was bad in many of the same ways…

Same. I guess my only option is to take months off, but can't really afford to...

Taking months off isn't the only option. It's just one way of buying you enough headspace to begin to see what the true problem is. Identifying the cause is the first step - then you can start to take small steps towards fixing that specific problem/s. Even small things, like turning off your phone when you leave work for the day, or taking a walk outside on your lunch break, can help a lot.

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#27

Hey everyone - thanks so much for reading! Burnout and depression is a topic that not enough of us talk about, even though that's often the best solution. If you know anyone struggling with burnout or depression, or you just enjoyed my article, I'd be forever grateful if you'd share it with them on Twitter or Facebook, to help spread the word. Thanks so much!

Fellow Coloradoan here. Just wanted to say thank you for writing this. I'm going through a very difficult time in my professional life and needed to read that. Thanks again!

No problem - so glad it helped!

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#28

Hey everyone - thanks so much for reading! Burnout and depression is a topic that not enough of us talk about, even though that's often the best solution. If you know anyone struggling with burnout or depression, or you just enjoyed my article, I'd be forever grateful if you'd share it with them on Twitter or Facebook, to help spread the word. Thanks so much!

I'm very burnt out on the whole 'like and share' thing Kieran. Is the intent to productize your thoughts and advice? I thought it was an ok article but was turned off by the email harvesting to get your punch list.

'Work to live' rather than live to work is my credo...

Re: Recovering from Burnout and Depression

#30
I can totally relate to this. I experienced this after working steadily 4 years and then having a close friend pass unexpectedly. Suddenly everything I was spending all my time on felt like a waste of time. Now, almost two years later I'm doing better and even looking to work in a non-remote scenario. I think it's great to be on the lookout for signs of burnout, but on the other hand it's equally important to use our time wisely and do the things we love.
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