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Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#51

Post by Eli_P »

manmal wrote: post #34

Chronic stress sets you up for so many diseases, where burnout is just an early warning sign in comparison. Cancer, heart disease, stroke - you name it, chances are way higher that you get it if you are under chronic stress. Being a freelancer with 2 little kids, I‘ve had my fair share of stress (and burnout), but I‘m doing quite well nowadays. So, here‘s my personal anti-stress toolbox, from most effective to least…

I think this methodology is a kind of recipe for detaching from yourself completely, leave out the last two clauses which I do like. But, philosophy of suppressing emotions seasoned with substances which inhibit Default Mode Network in your brain? Sure thing if you have failed or feel stuck as a short term remedy, but ain't you gonna lose yourself if do it regularly?

Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#52

Post by isoprophlex »

RandomInteger4 wrote: post #5

I've been experiencing a type of burnout for the past 7 years that is mostly mental in nature. I get plenty of exercise and while my sleep schedule is abnormal, I still get normal amounts of sleep. Where the burnout comes in is when I get back the motivation to learn and program, and everything is going good, but then I start talking to recruiters and applying to jobs, and the farthest I get is the phone interview. I…

did you talk to a professional? a psychologist, or an employment counsellor? a personal trainer?

I'm sure you can find some kind of professional that's trained to help people in your predicament?

Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#54

Post by rawrmaan »

graeme wrote: post #4

Pretty sure I burned myself out three years ago, while launching a big thing for my business. Basically, I ran a live course, and it happened right after some travel that had already been scheduled, so I had no downtime. It was all rush, rush, rush for 2-3 months straight. This basically set me up for the next several years in business, and I'm glad I did it, but ooof was the penalty high. This makes me think 1. Good…

This is so close to my experience it’s amazing. I’ve found that disconnecting from any technology for 2 hours straight on any given day (harder than it should be) will 100% of the time make me feel much better.

I think that it relates to the stress response cycle you’re talking about. If I give my body and mind time away from stressors, I can make quick progress to escaping the “constantly overwhelmed” feeling.

Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#56

Post by scruple »

org3432 wrote: post #49

What exhausts me is the people, the politics, the engineering egos, and the endless tolerance of companies to spend months of time working through previously obviously poor decisions and no tolerance for fixing the attitudes that created them. You’re called perfectionist engineer, regardless of how little effort or time it takes to correct the long term trajectory for your project. There’s little connection to clear…

Do we work for the same company? It's _infuriating_ to watch the same people make the same mistakes time and time again. Where is the accountability? Where has the integrity gone? Was it all a lie? What exactly is the _point_ of this charade?

Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#58

Post by naveen99 »

if some people weren’t burning out, the bean counters would continue squeezing everyone more and the people currently not burning out would start feeling pain also. Some burnout keeps the balance... it’s like if you always succeed, you aren’t achieving your potential.

Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#59

Post by AlphaSite »

Negitivefrags wrote: post #41
esoterica wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd like to get rid of most salaried positions and get people paid by the hour. I think having someone counting the number of hours you have your butt in a seat is a particularly degrading form of micromanagement, and I'm glad I don't have to endure it. Your TC is the only number that matters; there's no financial difference between getting paid 300k and no overtime and getting paid 200k + 100k overtime. It's silly…

We pay all our developers by the hour, and I think it's super important. To correct your first misconception, we don't count peoples hours, people just tell us how many hours they worked each pay cycle. We also pay 1.5X per hour for more than 40 hours per week if we asked you to work extra. The primary advantage is that it aligns everyone incentives. In management I know that there is a very real cost to us if we ask…

I mean it’s means it encourages people to work hard, not smart. That’s a direct disalignment of incentives.

Re: Burnout caused by chronic stress is widespread

#60

Post by tyfon »

graeme wrote: post #4

Pretty sure I burned myself out three years ago, while launching a big thing for my business. Basically, I ran a live course, and it happened right after some travel that had already been scheduled, so I had no downtime. It was all rush, rush, rush for 2-3 months straight. This basically set me up for the next several years in business, and I'm glad I did it, but ooof was the penalty high. This makes me think 1. Good…

I second the do less work in total but also do more focused work.

I had to take a break for a couple months now where I worked only half days and I've also focused on 1-2 projects instead of being the "person who does everything". The company I'm working for has gone from a small start-up to a company of 150 people in a few years and while the business grew much of the organizational structure has not followed up and I ended up taking too much responsibility. I've also been "on" for the last five years without the ability to completely relax even on vacations since I was just a phone call away and there was a lot of stuff that only I could do. At one point I was ready to toss the phone in the toilet or smash it against a rock or something. Smart phones are a major source of stress.

I'm back full time now and feel much better but the key is removing the stressors as you call them and focus on fewer things. I've removed a lot of my previous "only me" tasks and focused on two key projects that will make my life even less stressful. I've also sold quite a bit of equity so I won't work myself to death of fear that my absence will send the stock down.

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