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Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

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11–20 of 26 posts

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#11
I'm sorry. Reading this is like looking into a mirror. I am not going to say that I know how you feel. I just want you to know that so when I say that I am sorry, I am deeply sorry. I don't know what the answer is because I'm still going through it right now. Some things that I'm lucky enough to have that have helped me are my dog, family, friends and a change of environment. If you ever want to talk I am available.

I don't know if a job like that exists but take care of yourself. Take care of yourself, aggressively, like you are worth being taken care of, because you are.

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#12
> I can't do any of that right now. I've been feeling like I'm scamming the company, because there have been entire weeks where I literally didn't work.

Don't be too hard on yourself. A lot lf people are going through this. Some people are really struggling with wfh, others have multiple kids at home and can only work at 20% because they just have no time or energy left. Others study with mental health problems. And finally, others have experienced serious strains with their SOs due to being locked in together for so long (which might be worse than actually splitting). My point is, this is the reality for now, we are all aware of this, and I'm guessing your boss is banking on you being able to go back to normal after the pandemic is over.

Beyond that, what helped me is to think of the people that depend on you. Whoever you are or should be mentoring is an actual human being that depends in one way or another on you. Same for your coworkers and boss (although. "coworkers" is such a vague word in a big corp). So don't do it for the salary, do it for them. Keep doing therapy, keep going on ine day at a time , there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

ps: what was the sport? rock climbing, swimming, soccer?(just curious about what hobbies can i take once this is over)

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#13
There definitely does exist less stressful software engineering jobs where you won't have to make big, important decisions or mentor other people. Some web dev agencies/consulting companies can actually be very nice to work at, for example, since you'll often get to work on greenfields projects. Try looking at smaller companies or maybe governmental or non-profit companies.

On a coping note: prioritize reducing your stress/anxiety in whatever (healthy) you can even if you feel guilty for not getting enough work done. For myself, I've had to do things like force myself to go for a walk every afternoon even if I hadn't completed all my tasks for the day yet, shut my computer off at a certain time, visit family over the weekend even if I feel like I need to stay at home and "catch up" on work, etc.

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#14
@watermelon59 I appreciate your genuine honest approach, if you need to connect and talk with someone with unique perspective and you wanna just express yourself, let me know.. You can hit me up and lets just talk, i might not have specific details but i think what your looking for is possibly bit of advise and someone to connect while expressing. Anyways, if not all good, just attempting to align intentions. Thanks again for the post! #TheBradyMentality

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#15
post #5

I do a lot of hiring in this field. I have zero interest in anyone who changes jobs regularly. This might sound mean, but I promise I mean it as sincerely as possible. Grow up, focus on your life, and stop worrying about the things you can't change. You got to where you are for a reason. People rely on you. The first thing you should do is work extra hours to make up for the slacking. You will feel good. You also nee…

Sorry, this isn't helpful at all, and I feel the need to address it. > I have zero interest in anyone who changes jobs regularly. I've been on this job for several years. I don't change jobs frequently. > Grow up, focus on your life Considering I was married and raised a kid, I think that covers the growing up part. The therapy part covers focusing on my life. > The first thing you should do is work extra hours to ma…

We small team and two junior devs, in need of mentor for Keeping It Super Simple... #TheBradyMentality...

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#16
It sounds like quitting to take a less stressful (but probably less well paid) job would be a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

I would think seriously about taking some sick leave. Work a bit on your evening projects during the day. Get plenty of sleep and exercise in fresh air. Switch off the news and listen to classical music instead. Maybe this sounds lame but I did this when I was going through a rough patch and my mental health rebounded.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#17
Consider taking unpaid time off and recover.

I work for a large company in the US. We have both unpaid FMLA and unpaid time off. The difference is that with FMLA the company still subsidizes health insurance to some degree. If you are in the US, your company has the FMLA option.

One of my coworkers (a very senior manager) is in Germany and has a serious family issue. He has been working part time for a while at a reduced salary.

How many years do you have in career? 10 years or more? If you take 6 months off, will that matter in the long run? Won't it be better if you don't have work stress on top of everything else?

>If I could get a job where I'm basically assigned tasks to code things to spec, done, next, that'd be perfect.

There's no guarantee that a job that starts like that will stay like that. All it takes is one manager to decide that you will get more responsibility and you are back to what you were trying to avoid.

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#18
post #6
post #5

I do a lot of hiring in this field. I have zero interest in anyone who changes jobs regularly. This might sound mean, but I promise I mean it as sincerely as possible. Grow up, focus on your life, and stop worrying about the things you can't change. You got to where you are for a reason. People rely on you. The first thing you should do is work extra hours to make up for the slacking. You will feel good. You also nee…

Down vote an honest opinion. Nice. Enjoy your echo chamber.

From the HN guidelines: "Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#19
First, make your health (not a job) your top priority. You only have one life. Jobs come and go.

Also, investigate these today:

* Short-term and long-term disability benefits you may have.

* Unpaid FMLA leave you can take.

* Ask therapist about potential options.

* Ask therapist about increasing therapy sessions to > 1x/week.

* Walk outside. Several times a day, if you want.

Re: Ask HN: I need help finding a job that fits my current mental situation

#20
You are not the only one having trouble functioning during the pandemic. Your manager may be "understanding" because others are performing worse.

When a heterosexual couple divorce, the wife typically takes a big hit financially and the husband typically takes a big hit emotionally and socially. I am hearing that the combination of divorce and pandemic has really nuked your social and emotional life and you have no idea how to rebuild it.

I think you look forward to therapy because it's someone to talk with about personal stuff and it's your only outlet currently for that.

Let me also suggest that you may need to work on cleaning your house. If your wife was primarily the person who did the housework and you are now working from home and not really cleaning it, that could account for your health issues to some degree and your inability to focus.

Clean your house. Get some social outlets. Put off a decision about your job until you have a handle on those two things.

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