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Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

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Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#161

Post by zxexz »

huijzer wrote: post #154
nunez wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Yes! And Christianity to this day is still very and subtly misogynistic. For example, why does a woman need to give up her last name when marrying?

Not arguing that Christianity and other religions aren't misogynistic - I mean, seriously, there is a borderline unfathomable amount of serious misogynistic baggage there.

However, on the point of last names, I feel the urge to point out that I personally know several, very devout and traditional, catholic couples who kept their last names in wedlock.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#162

Post by [deleted] »

MathMonkeyMan wrote: post #96
patrickhogan1 wrote: post #20

Interestingly, while chronic sleep deprivation is harmful, studies show that a single night of sleep deprivation can have a rapid, temporary antidepressant effect in 40-60% of people with depression. I tried this after burning out on my third startup, and it helped me short-term when I needed it most. You can read more about the research Penn Medicine ( https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2017/septemb...…

A psychiatrist told me that sleep deprivation does have a proven anti-depressant effect, but that the side effects are very severe. Makes sense. He preferred the SSRIs. There is a moment, when I've been up all night and am engaging with the world, that I feel a lack of anxiety and a mental clarity. It's like I've finally "sobered up." I think it's my body telling me "we need to sleep, none of this shit matters." Slee…

[deleted]

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#163

Post by RomanPushkin »

I've been dealing with burnout multiplied by cancer in the family. My spouse was diagnosed back in 2020. It was tough and unmanageable until I got back to P.Cubensis and started microdosing it just to stay alive. I didn't go to stratosphere, and not a fan of a mAcrodose. But mIcrodose helped me to rewire my brain. Can't recommend it enough. Don't do P.Cubensis though, since P.Natalensis is the better, easier choice in all aspects. Also, dried Amanita Muscaria does a great thing - you're probably just one dried (!) 10cm cap away from getting back on rails. And no, you won't have a "trip" from it. I'm not talking about "trips", euphoria, etc. I'm talking about saving your life instead of wasting one.

I've learnt the hard way that there are protocols from getting back on your feet from the shittiest shit in your life. There are communities of people with MUCH SEVERE problems.

It's also in books, read "PSYCHEDELIC OUTLAWS: The Movement Revolutionizing Modern Medicine" by Joanna Kempner. (there is also audiobook). There are communities, really really good communities that will help you to get back on your feet again, quickly, no b/s (I'm a bit hesitant to share the links, but you can always reach out). This really works, verified.

If you're suicidal, call 988. Also, I can send you a link to a protocol that helped many people with a very good reviews. I discovered it by accident, and there is a community of people who implemented that. Once you have all the things, the help is so quick, in a week you gonna enjoy life again.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#164

Post by jraph »

Burnout can also be bad to your relationships. It can break stuff because of your lack of energy and positivity.

It's not only caused by overwork and it's often a combination of things: overwork, lack of meaning, lack of recognition, misalignment with your values...

If you feel like you are slowing down and it starts being difficult to get started working for more than a few days, it is critically important to do something. Burnout sets up slowly and strongly and it's hard to notice.

A friend who has burned out and has been seeing a therapist who told him burnout is the brain breaking like an overused muscle. Burnout might be a defense from the brain against what harmed it. I don't know if it's true but I believe it's a better perspective than "I'm too strong for burnout" or "it's purely psychological" or "it's in your head".

Take care.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#166

Post by owenpalmer »

I started doing dev work at 17. Initially, it was the most fun and productive stage of growth in my life. After switching companies, I started taking on a lot of responsibility and stress. I didn't know how to communicate when it was too much. I was very ambitious and studied programming for hours outside of work every day. The projects assigned to me began to feel meaningless. At this time, I was also in a long distance relationship. By age 19 my mental health was absolutely destroyed. After quitting my job, I couldn't even open an editor for months. It took a lot of healing before I could even think about writing another line of code.

Although I've somewhat recovered from burnout and depression, I still have lasting symptoms that haven't gone away.

My memory in particular has not recovered. I used to memorize hundreds of digits on pi-day just for fun. My mental energy is not the same, and everything (things what were previously easy) continue to be challenging.

I'm giving it time. I'm pretty happy now, but I miss the raw intellectual abilities.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#167

Post by Joel_Mckay »

The Ikigai (生き甲斐, lit. 'a reason for being') chart is quite helpful:

https://hyperisland.com/en/blog/thought-leadership/feeling-d...

In general, most techs usually just get bored after awhile, and seek something more interesting to pursue. Hobbies and sport participation sometimes helps, but if you are already at the burnout stage it usually requires a few years doing something else to recover.

Secretly, most fantasize about being a Plumber everyday... =3

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#170

Post by kd5bjo »

swatcoder wrote: post #72
senectus1 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You missed one of the most important things they may not be doing, excersize. This has an incredible "freeing" effect on the mind and "soul". You dont need to be a HIT or cross fit fanatic. just get out and active reguarly. This will also help with sleep and eating better. Get into regular tiring excersize. It will help with so much.

Indeed! I had it there, then revised as "being active" as I think a lot of people get distracted and discouraged by the the contrived, abstract thing that is modern "exercise". I personally enjoy exercise as a hobby, but doing some productive labor, commuting or running errands by foot/bicycle, engaging with active kids, etc, can all hit the same mark in terms of ongoing wellness.

When I was a kid, I developed a strong aversion to anything described with the terms “healthy” or “exercise” because anytime they were used, it inevitably meant that the activity had nothing else to recommend it and would be unpleasant. I think I’m finally over that particular hang-up, but it took decades.
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