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Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

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Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#161

Post by tasuki »

justathrowa wrote: post #142
axxxo93 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, my friend. Suicide's main issue is that you will be dead. I urge you to talk to a professional. You don't have to feel this way.

Is it? The dead cannot feel joy, love, pain, or sadness. They cannot perceive anything, nor can the be aware of anything; one second in time is exactly the same as a billion years to the dead. And you cannot do anything to the dead that would change that. Barring the possibility of an afterlife, if nothing can affect the dead, and the dead are unaware of everything, what could possibly be the dead's problem? The livi…

Fully agree with everything you wrote here. It isn't a problem to be not-living. I was not-living long before I was born, and it was never a problem.

I understand you feel your life isn't worth living. It is very much possible (though not easy) to change that. As the others have said, please talk to a professional. I don't know you, but you seem like a bright, thoughtful person. Humanity needs you.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#162

Post by [deleted] »

wincy wrote: post #141
stroz wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glad to hear your daughter is doing well! Your story really captures a lot about the experience of attempting to find some sense of control in a situation where you feel powerless. What do you think it would have taken to develop the emotional stability to approach this differently (i.e. being able to show up at the hospital) or do you believe that experience is the only way to learn some of these lessons?

I don’t really know. I have a few ideas though based on my experience. Our friends and extended family disappeared as soon as our daughter was born. I don’t know if it’s American culture or what, but people get extremely uncomfortable around people who are mourning or going through trials in their lives. People sort of blank out then don’t hang out with you anymore, or even invite you to things. After all, you’re goi…

[deleted]

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#163

Post by dredmorbius »

wincy wrote: post #16

After our second daughter was born with a disability and we didn’t know if she’d make it to her first birthday I threw myself into my new job utterly. I was working 7-7 almost every day, took every opportunity to travel, and in general was absent from the situation as much as my “very important job” would allow. For me I felt completely powerless at the hospital. At work I got to solve “important” problems that were…

A sense of agency, justfied or false, seems to be a major factor in person's sense of control, autonomy, and self.

Agency is the opposite of stressors. Agency is the capacity to act with effect on one's environment. Sstress is the inability, whether through mental or physsical ability, excessive or nonsensical information, inability to manipulate or maneuver, or nonresponsiveness on the part of the environment, whether inanimate, animate, or sentient.

When faced with domains of no comtrol, individuals often seek domains of some control. This may be career, hobby, volunteering, sport, art, intellectual activities --- positive adaptations. Or "kick the dog" (or spouse, children, neighbour, scapegoat...) responses.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#164

Post by lrossi »

philmcp wrote: post #77

In years to come we will look down on the 5 day working week in the same way we currently do with 15hr factory shifts during the industrial revolution. It absolutely blows my mind that 99% of office roles are still 5 days / week, Monday to Friday - why is there basically no variation on this model? I'd be more than happy to work a job for 80% salary for 4 days per week... So much so, I'm about to launch a website lis…

Interesting. How long until you launch?

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#165

Post by philmcp »

lrossi wrote: post #164
philmcp wrote: post #77

In years to come we will look down on the 5 day working week in the same way we currently do with 15hr factory shifts during the industrial revolution. It absolutely blows my mind that 99% of office roles are still 5 days / week, Monday to Friday - why is there basically no variation on this model? I'd be more than happy to work a job for 80% salary for 4 days per week... So much so, I'm about to launch a website lis…

Interesting. How long until you launch?

Hopefully next week, will email everyone on the list and post it on HN when it's live

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#166

Post by scarby2 »

bitbuilder wrote: post #145
fatnoah wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For me I felt completely powerless at the hospital. At work I got to solve “important” problems that were trivial in comparison to the things I had no control over, and was rewarded for doing so. It felt good to be useful when my life felt in complete chaos outside of work. Wow, did this resonate with me. In my case, I was suffering from depression, though I didn't realize it at the time. The extreme focus required…

I'm sure a lot of us can relate. One of my best memories from my career: I was sitting at my desk at 8pm "working" because I had "so much to do". When in reality I was just dreading going home. A coworker that I barely new dropped by my desk and said "Things aren't going well at home, are they? Me either." We proceeded to head across the street to a bar to share stories. It helped immensely at that time. I make an ef…

> One of my best memories from my career: I was sitting at my desk at 8pm "working" because I had "so much to do". When in reality I was just dreading going home.

This used to be a daily thing for me. I would stay at the office from 10 am to 10pm most days not really working but i just didn't want to go home.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#167

Post by jolmg »

justathrowa wrote: post #142
axxxo93 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, my friend. Suicide's main issue is that you will be dead. I urge you to talk to a professional. You don't have to feel this way.

Is it? The dead cannot feel joy, love, pain, or sadness. They cannot perceive anything, nor can the be aware of anything; one second in time is exactly the same as a billion years to the dead. And you cannot do anything to the dead that would change that. Barring the possibility of an afterlife, if nothing can affect the dead, and the dead are unaware of everything, what could possibly be the dead's problem? The livi…

> So really... is being dead a problem for the dead? Or is it more the concern of those still alive?

I wouldn't weigh them. It could go either way.

The problem for the dead is the loss of opportunity. The waste. If I have some amount of cash in my wallet, what I'm able to do with it will depend on the market that's available to me. Maybe I won't be able to afford the same things others do in other places, but I should be able to take some advantage of it. Dying is dropping that cash down the gutter. It's utterly wasteful, to put it politely.

Doing the same with your time alive is even more so because you can't get it back.

Even the most minimal use of your 5 senses is a good use. Even dreaming while sleep is a good use. Even just thinking is a good use. The opportunity to use that time for anything at all is lost when you die.

I'm sure there must be someone that would love to be in your shoes. You say you got your pay reduced by $10,000 a year. I know people that likely make only 1/4 of that a year. Then there's the terminally ill. The envy! How luxurious of you to not want your life.

At the very least, couldn't you seek someone terminally ill and live to fulfill their dream? Live the life they wanted? It could be a simple one. Doesn't matter if you don't manage to fulfill it, just part-way is fine. Someone else might be able to continue from where you left off if that happens. And it's not like you're planning on doing something else anyway.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#168

Post by Tycho »

justathrowa wrote: post #56
honkycat wrote: post #30

Most of the time I've seen it, it is avoidance of the rest of their life. "Change diapers? Oh, sorry honey, I uhh... gotta do this thing at work. Darn it!" One phenomenon I've always noticed about workaholics is that they THINK they are being more productive, but often times they are just spending more time spinning their wheels. Also the effect it has on their mood/interpersonal skills, and the pressure it puts on t…

>But that doesn't mean it is a healthy way to spend all of your time. Dunno about that. Just a personal anecdote, but this year my boss specifically told me to work less, slashing my salary down by $10,000 a year to emphasize the point. Prior to this, 200 to 240 hours a month was pretty typical and has been for the last 8 years. (I doubt it's out of real concern for my health, my workload hasn't been reduced). What I…

Go to church. The people there will talk to you and welcome you to join activities. During the service all you have to do is stand up, sit down, and sing along. Listening is optional. Even if you are not religious, you can treat it as some sort of research into mass psychology or systems of civilization.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#169

Post by yobert »

dunemaster wrote: post #143

As a freelance concept artist and illustrator I pull regular all nighters but when I’m into the zone drawing worlds and characters from pure imagination, I lose track of time and space. After some time of not sleeping it feels like my head is floating mid air, I don’t know which day of the week it is and the last time I looked out the window the sun was going up, now it’s early morning again. It doesn’t interfere wit…

Programming does this for me too. I think it's as important to make space for this in your life, as it is to make space for other things too.

I believe doing work at that level of immersion is actually hugely beneficial to your life and mental health. There was just an article on HN the other day about a 104 year old submitting his PHD thesis. Super cool!

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