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Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

nytimes.com

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Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#101

Post by coleifer »

protonimitate wrote: post #71
whalesalad wrote: post #39

I deleted all my tweets. Killed the app. Killed the Reddit app. Killed Instagram. Killed Facebook. I need to reactivate FB and do a dump of my data, but I’m dreading that. I just want the photos. I’m finding solace in boredom and using that as a catalyst for change. I’ve been reading more, already finished three books in the last few weeks. I’m on a mission to pour rocket fuel on my personal consulting business. I’m…

The value of boredom cannot be overstated. The "always on" culture that has become prevalent in the past decade has, in my opinion, contributed greatly rising angst/anxiety/stress. We don't give our brains any time to rest anymore. Most people start and end the day by injecting thousands of images, words, and ideas into their thoughts via screens with no time to process and "clear the queue" so to speak. I've start i…

> I've start implementing "nothing" days

omg so self-important. so humorless.

edit: please downvote me into oblivion, it just confirms what i already knew

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#103

Post by mindsetalex »

dlphn___xyz wrote: post #34

the workers arent the problem and therapy isnt the answer - workers shouldn’t feel afraid to set boundaries to prevent being exploited or abused.

What if we’re the founders? It’s hard to set boundaries from your company when you ARE the company.

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#104

Post by dominotw »

whalesalad wrote: post #39

I deleted all my tweets. Killed the app. Killed the Reddit app. Killed Instagram. Killed Facebook. I need to reactivate FB and do a dump of my data, but I’m dreading that. I just want the photos. I’m finding solace in boredom and using that as a catalyst for change. I’ve been reading more, already finished three books in the last few weeks. I’m on a mission to pour rocket fuel on my personal consulting business. I’m…

> I’m finding solace in boredom

you seem to be very active on HN. HN is my main distraction too.

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#105

Post by ryandrake »

vincent-toups wrote: post #4

Everyone should go to therapy. I don't think I've ever met a person who doesn't need to talk things out, from time to time, with a semi-objective, third party. Most of us were raised by imperfect people trying their best who still made a lot of mistakes. Even people who had really prepared parents probably experienced things which might have left us with some unresolved issues. Go see a therapist. Its not a big deal.

Unfortunately it could be a big deal because of the stigma. There are jobs that ask whether you have ever seen a psychologist and/or have ever had a mental health diagnosis, presumably to disqualify you. For example I believe the FAA asks for this information from pilots. I would guess any job that requires security clearance would also require you to disclose this information.

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#106

Post by CPLX »

protonimitate wrote: post #71
whalesalad wrote: post #39

I deleted all my tweets. Killed the app. Killed the Reddit app. Killed Instagram. Killed Facebook. I need to reactivate FB and do a dump of my data, but I’m dreading that. I just want the photos. I’m finding solace in boredom and using that as a catalyst for change. I’ve been reading more, already finished three books in the last few weeks. I’m on a mission to pour rocket fuel on my personal consulting business. I’m…

The value of boredom cannot be overstated. The "always on" culture that has become prevalent in the past decade has, in my opinion, contributed greatly rising angst/anxiety/stress. We don't give our brains any time to rest anymore. Most people start and end the day by injecting thousands of images, words, and ideas into their thoughts via screens with no time to process and "clear the queue" so to speak. I've start i…

After much back and forth and introspection on this topic I just went ahead and became a Zen Buddhist.

I don't think we can function as humans without regular long, meaningful detachment from all these digital tools.

There's a lot of ways to do it. But I feel like everyone needs to pick one.

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#107

Post by CalRobert »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #81
CalRobert wrote: post #33

Every minute spent not fighting climate apocalypse is a fucking waste of time. And I waste most of my time, because I can't find a way to fight while staying solvent (this month I'm buying a roof to fix the leaky one, for instance). In another thread the clathrate gun is about to go off big time https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21026051 Anxiety is pretty warranted when you're literally looking at the end of civil…

Careful about the “end of civilization”, global warming is the most important challenge of our generation but media outlet sensationalism exaggerate a lot of things (notably the clathrate gun and other things, which are not widely accepted). Read the last IPCC reports instead of randos from the internet: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/

Thanks - my concern is that the IPCC reports appear to be too conservative, possibly not modeling feedback effects enough. We're tracking around the worst case scenarios presented in the 2015 report so far.

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#109

Post by CalRobert »

algaeontoast wrote: post #88
CalRobert wrote: post #33

Every minute spent not fighting climate apocalypse is a fucking waste of time. And I waste most of my time, because I can't find a way to fight while staying solvent (this month I'm buying a roof to fix the leaky one, for instance). In another thread the clathrate gun is about to go off big time https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21026051 Anxiety is pretty warranted when you're literally looking at the end of civil…

Mods can we take care of this? I think this person genuinely needs help or this post was made by a troll. If you view the world this way - you should know it's not productive to the causes you've listed or your mental health. If this isn't a troll post you should seek some kind of help.

I am sincere.

Re: Anxious tech workers are going to therapy

#110

Post by chrisnaoumidis »

cicciop wrote: post #78

As somebody who's recently started going to therapy (and a tech worker), I'm skeptical that apps will help -- most of the point is being able to talk to a real person, in a real place, and get honest feedback. This said, therapy is not as "modern" as people think. Catholic confession has been around for literally millennia, and it basically had that same role: one guy will listen to your deepest thoughts and shames,…

Yeah it's really hard to replicate the feeling of being in a room with someone and talking through specific situations in your life. Talk therapy (and probably all therapy) is better in person, but there's value in being able to do some home exercises and sessions as well even if it doesn't replace therapy.

There are other therapy approaches which are more suited to be delivered through a phone. Something that we've seen work really well is teaching coping skills, mental models and different perspectives. It's much less about focusing on your past and life situations, and more about actionable skills that you can learn to manage mental health issues.

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