Ask HN: How to deal with burnout and its consequences?

Time and therapy. Usually it’s not just the job as the sole root cause.

For some people ADHD and anxiety are co-morbid.

> My job wasn't overly difficult, but the corporate environment I found myself in was something I'd never done before and it was completely unsuited to me as an individual

Is the heart of your problem your career or this specific job / company? A change of scenery can do wonders to re-motivate and reinvigorate.

I have been there too! I was also incapable of working afterwards. All the code was alien to me. Being in the office was a nightmare. I wanted shout and jump through the window! And seeing all the people whose mismanagement let me into this bad post burnout situation was even worse. Corona, my savior, came to me and office was closed. In hid at home and forced myself to do 6 daily pomodoros. That was enough to keep my job and think about other aspects of life. Now I have small consultancy, run my own product development and do my 4-6 daily pomodoros to keep that nice big corp salary. Management has changed, so I am coming for couple days to the office to chat and visit my own clients in the same city afterwards.

At the end I see burnout as very positive thing what happened to me. I am much better professional and better person. It brought me the understanding that I am not more than excel row for big corp and I must take care of myself by myself. Loyalty does not pay off.

Take your time, try keeping a job somehow. Looking for a new job while being mentally off track is very very hard.

If you're seeking care, this can also keep you from being fired (at least in the US/some countries). Most corporations have an employee counseling hotline that you can engage with that can help with this. Not that you want/plan to stay there. But that corp helped contribute to your condition-- they can help foot the bill. Don't put this all on yourself (but also don't put it all on others).

I was diagnosed at 32. Extremely high functioning but prone to burnout. I was hesitant as well, but embracing my diagnosis was life changing. You don't have to make ADHD your SINGLE core attribute like some people do. But ignoring what might be a core part of yourself isn't beneficial. Remember that it's just information-- what you do with the data is what's important. Meds can help but learning how to have healthy interactions with work and in my personal life was key.

You're not alone in this. I've found that there seems to be a higher concentration of ADHD in Dev/Security work. The constant newness of things keeps us interested-- but can also be dangerous.

Also, consider therapy. Even if you think you don't need it. Not a psychologist. But an actual factual therapist. I would prioritize this over medication, but honestly pursue them both. Therapy isn't what you think it is. It's a great way to have a sounding board.