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Avoiding Burnout

andrewdumont.me

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Re: Avoiding Burnout

#71

Post by eunikins »

cantankerous wrote: post #65
DanielRibeiro wrote: post #7

I remember reading this published insight[1] from Marissa Mayer a few months ago: Burnout is caused by resentment Which sounded amazing, until this guy who dated a neuroscientist commented[2]: No. Burnout is caused when you repeatedly make large amounts of sacrifice and or effort into high-risk problems that fail. It's the result of a negative prediction error in the nucleus accumbens. You effectively condition your…

I definitely can relate to some of the points from your [1] source. I've noticed that my burnout levels fall when I'm working out on a regular basis. For me it's cardio and running that really helps. Also getting some sunshine now and again doesn't hurt. Another biggie for me: Unplugging from (stuff like) Facebook I think can also help prevent the false perception that everybody is having a way better time than I am.…

The endorphins from working out really help -- I've gotten back into yoga and even at 20 minutes every morning, I feel like a more productive person, raring to take on the day.

I've found that there are people who just spam-post statuses to show off, garner attention, and/or put on their best face, but never really 'like' other people's posts or pay attention to their news feed. This behavior makes sense, because my FB news feed depresses me and augments any bit of subconscious insecurity I've willed myself to ignore. Except I deal with it by unplugging from FB, whereas the aforementioned type of person would overcompensate by ignoring the news feed, posting about their great life and garnering attention. This would be an interesting psychological study to read about.

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#73

Post by ttrreeww »

ZirconCode wrote: post #10

Judging from the comments and the articles, it seems like I've never had a proper burnout. I always recover within days, this seems to be a longer matter however. The author talks about warning signs, and many of you mention you can feel it coming, even two weeks advanced. Would it be possible to describe this to someone like me? Not the burnout, but the warning signs?

Do you ever had a big dream? Is it gone? That's burnout.

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#74

Post by ttrreeww »

AznHisoka wrote: post #46
mahyarm wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" Burnout is caused when you repeatedly make large amounts of sacrifice and or effort into high-risk problems that fail. It's the result of a negative prediction error in the nucleus accumbens. You effectively condition your brain to associate work with failure." A real definition of burnout! Everything else makes it sound so nebulous.

Yep, I absolutely agree. I always thought Marissa's comment on burnout seem a bit off, and inaccurate.

Marissa's definition is correct, although it applies mainly to super stars working for other people. That is the main way they burn out.

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#75

Post by marcbarros »

Totally. I just left Contour and realized I spent most of my twenties behind my laptop. I was completely exhausted and it has taken me almost six months of doing nothing to have my full energy back. I wrote a similar piece about enjoying the ride. I missed a lot of it at Contour. http://marcbarros.com/enjoying-the-ride/

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#76

Post by outworlder »

ahoyhere wrote: post #64
DanielRibeiro wrote: post #7

I remember reading this published insight[1] from Marissa Mayer a few months ago: Burnout is caused by resentment Which sounded amazing, until this guy who dated a neuroscientist commented[2]: No. Burnout is caused when you repeatedly make large amounts of sacrifice and or effort into high-risk problems that fail. It's the result of a negative prediction error in the nucleus accumbens. You effectively condition your…

The people in the know now understand that what we call "burnout" is not a psychological disorder at all, but sub-clinical[1] adrenal fatigue caused by stress, period. In other countries with superior medical system integration, like Austria/Germany, this is an accepted medical fact. If you stress out a rat long enough, its adrenal glands will actually bleed. If you stress out a human long enough, you cause first a h…

> Being unable to get out of bed. Being unable to make the simplest of decisions without feeling like you're having a panic attack. Being unable to read, because it's too much information at once. Being unable to watch TV shows that have too many "facts" in them. All of the above -- including simple questions of "What do you want for lunch, honey?" -- triggered panic-like attacks in me, who'd never had a panic attack despite years of physical and emotional abuse as a child. It was like being surrounded and squeezed and shouted at by a million people all at once, just to try to listen to my lunch options.

Holy...! You have described my current condition even better than I could. Interestingly, I just came back from a doctor who, after reviewing my blood tests(standard blood tests), said that there wasn't anything wrong with me and my issues were lack of exercise. Which may be true, but getting out of the bed currently IS an exercise for me. It is getting better though, two months after quitting my job - I can even enjoy Hacker News again.

Since you've gone down this path, what would you suggest? I am having a hard time convincing any doctors to do a more complete examination. I was going to focus next on sleep disorders, but now I think it might be worth talking to an endocrinologist...

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#77

Post by pcrh »

pserwylo wrote: post #2

I feel like this is useful information for much more than just people involved in work. Specifically, as PhD students, my partner and I (and pretty much all of our colleagues) often face burnout, and are always looking for ways to combat it. I quite like the sound of most things in this article, and think I will try to adopt some of the principles to my study and see if they will help. Specifically, I need to get bac…

A PhD should have a combination of high- and low-risk projects. An advisor who places their students only into high risk projects is gambling with _your_ life and career. If the project succeeds, the PI gets the lion's share of the kudos, and if it fails, you lose years of your life.

Ideally, the projects should be a low-risk project which gets your feet wet in the methodology and is "guaranteed" to produce a paper, combined with a higher risk project that potentially pays off big. Once the first low-risk project works, pick a second low-risk project to replace it; the amount of time you devote to the high risk project can increase once the first low-risk one has worked.

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#78

Post by tnorthcutt »

outworlder wrote: post #76
ahoyhere wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The people in the know now understand that what we call "burnout" is not a psychological disorder at all, but sub-clinical[1] adrenal fatigue caused by stress, period. In other countries with superior medical system integration, like Austria/Germany, this is an accepted medical fact. If you stress out a rat long enough, its adrenal glands will actually bleed. If you stress out a human long enough, you cause first a h…

> Being unable to get out of bed. Being unable to make the simplest of decisions without feeling like you're having a panic attack. Being unable to read, because it's too much information at once. Being unable to watch TV shows that have too many "facts" in them. All of the above -- including simple questions of "What do you want for lunch, honey?" -- triggered panic-like attacks in me, who'd never had a panic attack…

Amy will almost certainly have more/better advice, but I'd say:

1. Do something for fun/relaxation other than read HN. 2. Find a doctor who will run the tests you want. You're the customer.

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#79

Post by sageikosa »

ahoyhere wrote: post #64
DanielRibeiro wrote: post #7

I remember reading this published insight[1] from Marissa Mayer a few months ago: Burnout is caused by resentment Which sounded amazing, until this guy who dated a neuroscientist commented[2]: No. Burnout is caused when you repeatedly make large amounts of sacrifice and or effort into high-risk problems that fail. It's the result of a negative prediction error in the nucleus accumbens. You effectively condition your…

The people in the know now understand that what we call "burnout" is not a psychological disorder at all, but sub-clinical[1] adrenal fatigue caused by stress, period. In other countries with superior medical system integration, like Austria/Germany, this is an accepted medical fact. If you stress out a rat long enough, its adrenal glands will actually bleed. If you stress out a human long enough, you cause first a h…

My main take away from what your are stating is that it doesn't matter whether you succeed or fail at something, it is whether you are running the engine too hot for too long.

Stop, breathe, relax, pace yourself.

One can burnout after a failure as quickly as after a success. However, one might want to get back on the stress train quicker with a success, since one expects a victory rush at the end of the stress which apparently made the stress worth it.

Re: Avoiding Burnout

#80

Post by _nxnx »

ahoyhere wrote: post #64
DanielRibeiro wrote: post #7

I remember reading this published insight[1] from Marissa Mayer a few months ago: Burnout is caused by resentment Which sounded amazing, until this guy who dated a neuroscientist commented[2]: No. Burnout is caused when you repeatedly make large amounts of sacrifice and or effort into high-risk problems that fail. It's the result of a negative prediction error in the nucleus accumbens. You effectively condition your…

The people in the know now understand that what we call "burnout" is not a psychological disorder at all, but sub-clinical[1] adrenal fatigue caused by stress, period. In other countries with superior medical system integration, like Austria/Germany, this is an accepted medical fact. If you stress out a rat long enough, its adrenal glands will actually bleed. If you stress out a human long enough, you cause first a h…

Having experienced burnout and resulting chronic fatigue syndrome (which is really just an extreme version of burnout that persists long after the stress has ended), I pretty much agree with everything you say. However it's incorrect to say that burnout is physical rather than psychological as psychological factors do play a large part in determining whether or not you experience burnout.
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