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I am burned out while still in learning phase

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Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#21
The best news in this situation is that you are able to articulate it and that you have done so to your peers here and to your friends and family. You are far from having all hope being lost.

Your symptoms sound very much like a combination of anxiety disorder and depression or dysthymia. I dealt with / deal with these things too. I'm 36 now and life is pretty interesting and good, but I remember being right where you are when I was in my early twenties. It's especially difficult for smart, introspective, creative people because you think that you should be able to "fix yourself". While it can be possible to pull yourself up out of a depressed state, it sounds like you are too far down to do that. You really should seek help from a psychiatrist who can determine if you would benefit from medication. The medication is hopefully a tool to give you the mental space to get up and stay up. I don't know what the access to mental health care is like where you are or if there is a big stigma with being diagnosed with a mental illness; I hope that's not the case.

One thing that I did not see you mention was exercise. It's so damn important. You must force yourself to be active, ideally early in the morning - I know from my experience and the experience of others that even a half hour of exercise can help with your mood for the rest of the day. For me it takes the "immediacy" of anxiety down a notch.

Aside from exercise, establish a daily routine and stick with it. Get up at the same time of day, eat at the same times, exercise, sleep, etc. - the consistency can also help with anxiety and becomes a framework into which you can fit all of the other "things" like learning and coding.

I wish you well. I'm sure that a lot of us wish you well - from all over the world. Every human is beautiful, precious, and worthy of being happy and not suffering.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#22
If you look to external sources for validation, you will always be 'behind, not enough, etc'. Just find what makes you happy. Don't stay up all night. Take care of yourself and you will be just fine. And if things get worse, go talk to someone qualified to help. And don't lie to everyone about what you are doing. That compounds the problem.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#23
It sounds like you are struggling with a fairly serious combination of stress / anxiety / depression / disappointment. I know that you have dreams of turning your big ideas into reality, but the more important thing now is to stabilize your life, deepen your knowledge about the world and subjects that interest you, and create a clear path where you can see yourself succeeding in the next few years.

The reality may be that now isn't the time to be out of school and working on a startup on your own. I would seriously consider going back to college, learning everything you can while there, and then making your next move once you are feeling more stable. While there, focus on not putting too much pressure on yourself to change the world. If you want to stand a chance at "changing the world", you will first need to spend some time in a stable place where you can learn to manage your psychological state.

College also comes with the opportunity to deepen your knowledge base so you have more to offer the world. Once you have managed to get your life and emotional state under control, you will in a better place to figure out how to turn your big ideas into reality.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#24
Sounds like you might want to take a break!

Your early 20s are all about feeling pressure to make your mark on the world, but not necessarily knowing how. I think a lot of people struggle with that.

But, barring medical or unforeseen tragedy, you've got a Lon ways to go.

5 years seems like a lot of time when you're 22. But less so when you're 30, and even less when you're older.

I second the suggestion that you might want to talk all this out with a therapist who's objective and can spend some good time wih you.

But at least for me, the best advice I got in my early 20s was "don't worry so much, life has a way of finding you"

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#25
This too shall pass. It sounds like you ordered the CS smorgasbord and are now feeling the fatigue of all the effort expended to wrap your mind around it. Like someone else said, meditate. Recognize that changing the world is a noble goal, but meaningful change is an incremental thing, and really, those that change that world rarely end up doing so because that was their intention, but rather because they followed a path they found interesting that just happened to lead them there.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#26
post #8

Like you, I also have "world changing" ideas to make people's lives easier and healthier I hear that a lot in the startup scene where I live. It's bullshit. First and foremost, an idea is never world-changing. It's the execution of the idea that changes things. Until it has been executed successfully and actually changed the world , all it is is an idea. The impact can only be assessed later. Secondly, most people do…

I would add to your excellent points that the important breakthrough for me was to stop worrying about world-changing ideas and focus on getting the small libraries right.

Often times the ideas that really make a difference are not the big ones but the little ones executed well.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#28
post #9

[deleted]

I agree. School is a great way to learn about things and where mistakes are forgiven. You learn through mistakes.

Successful companies will all have you believe they started out in garages, out of cafes, etc.

1. Don't believe them

2. Don't think that you are not the exception, aka Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. You are NOT the smartest person in the world, you do NOT have original ideas and you are NOT someone everyone has been waiting for in a long while. You have to find out what you like being good at and what you like becoming better at and just do that. I know what it feels like to see all this cool technology and you want to do a little bit of everything of it, but there are not jobs and in the end no satisfaction in the field of little-bit-of-everything.

3. Also, sleeping and eating healthy actually is long term advice as well as short term. Even better; you are probably more productive if you spend less time on projects, work, etc than you are 'burning the midnight oil'. Again, you are not the exception here. I used to say "I am a night person, I don't need to sleep as much". Bullshit. Everybody needs sleep.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#29

I pasted on Pastebin because of 2000 characters limit. Thanks a lot to everyone who took time to hear me and thought of helping me out with kind words and motivation.

If you're in Kathmandu, consider going to Delhi and seeing a Psychologist (I recommend Apollo; Dr Rakhi Aanand there is awesome). You'll be better sooner that you think.

Re: I am burned out while still in learning phase

#30
Read the book "The Practicing Mind" by Thomas Sterner.

In this moment you are already perfect exactly as you are, because in this moment there is no other way that you can possibly be.

If you are already perfect in this moment, then what to do?

Practice. It is committing to practice in this moment that will manifest a better version of yourself in a future moment.

But realize, the practice need not be stressful, because you are already perfect, because there is no other way you can possibly be.

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