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Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

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Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#51

Post by edoceo »

I've been coding for 20+ years; for a while I felt like it was just spinngin wheels. Starting my own project has improved my passion for the code I write but for just feeling better in general the excercise is the biggest deal.

Some times new employees seem to have this non-enthuastic drive. I know they don't have an excercise regimen.

I take meetings with the team now with a hackey-sack. It's easy but gets the blood moving. 15m of hack, 2x or 3x a day can make a huge difference in your emotions.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#52

Post by drblast »

efewf wrote: post #45
AdeptusAquinas wrote: post #31

I went through a dark phase like this a while ago. Similar situation, with a mortgage that effectively trapped me at my job. I eventually figured out though that my depression was linked to the frustration with the pointlessness of the job - you are not exactly doing anything meaningful when each day is building pointless features into monolithic intranets for companies and government departments who are motivated mo…

Good advice. The only issue I see is that I might find myself unmotivated to progress in my career. If I become laissez-faire, I might not go for the promotion. Have you had this be an issue?

Progress, the way you think about it, is defined externally. It's drilled into us that we have to get good grades, get into a good school, get the best job, keep working and moving up, up, up.

Even if you do those things perfectly it probably won't make you happy because you're letting someone else define what success and progress is for you. And there will always be more to achieve and a higher level to climb.

If the progress treadmill is meaningful to you, power to you. Otherwise, you have to find your own meaning. When you do your pointless job won't seem so pointless.

I make a good salary at a large software company and I have an amazing family and friends. Every day I feel like I'm growing as a human being in my relationships. My job pays the bills and my family is comfortable. We drive old cars and live fairly frugally. I'm much happier now than I ever was when I was trying to make progress according to someone else's rules.

Also, if your job is boring, do the hell out of that job. One of the happiest people I've ever met served pizza and did it better than anyone I'd ever seen; she remembered every customer's name, made all the kids laugh, and had a good thing to say to everyone she met.

There's a lot of satisfaction to be had from taking something that doesn't matter and making it matter.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#53

Post by vertis »

Along with all the other suggestions:

- Go a little bit rogue. Focus on what you think it's important for the company/team to be doing regardless of what "smarter" people are telling you to do.

- Find non-tech people within the company and solve their problems. Write small in-house applications to make their lives easier.

- Take time to learn something new, and then share what you've learned with your team with a tech talk. e.g: Machine Learning, Continuous Delivery, Functional Programming

- Find someone either inside or outside the company to mentor: I like to start with the RailsGirls guides and expand out from there.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#54

Post by EC1 »

mrcold wrote: post #41
EC1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fuck? We're programmers. We have the easiest lives of the working class. I'm literally sitting here in my underwear, unshaven, drinking a beer, making stupid money for coding objectively pointless crap much like 99% of us. It's absurd. Lighten up.

I would be happy too if I was a freelancer working from home. Try cutting your income in half and going every day to an office to answer to a manager dumber than you. See how much you like it then.

I hated it and I quit, this was two weeks ago and I'm actually sort of struggling for income lol. I have like two months to make this work. But simply having that option sit in the back of my head made it easy enough to go to work, because I knew that if it got bad enough I can just get up and leave.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#55

Post by DanBC »

the_economist wrote: post #21

The following things are proven to make you happier (and smarter!). I try to do all of them. 1) Exercise for at least 60 minutes/day. I recommend getting a pedometer and walking 12,000 steps/day, plus working out with weights 2-4 times/week 2) Gratitude -- try to spend time every day thinking about the things you are grateful for 3) Meditation -- 10 minutes/day. It works. Studies prove it! 4) Relationship with the su…

> The following things are proven to make you happier

> exercise

There is only weak evidence of the psychological benefit of exercise.

Exercise is useful for other reasons, but please don't use words like "proven" when talking about fixing low mood.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#56

Post by jes »

There are many good comments on this thread, so I hope that you consider them carefully.

One point I'd like to add is this. Try to find small things that you can start and finish in a reasonable amount of time. Maybe something you can do in an hour, as against, starting yet another task that will take days or weeks to finish.

In my experience, actually finishing tasks that have some value to me give me a little hit of dopamine or some other brain chemical, and that often improves my mood.

I wish you the best.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#57

Post by bbarn »

zem wrote: post #27

caveat: the following advice works very well for me; it might not for everyone the main idea is, do not tie your identity or sense of self-worth to your job. be very clear that your job is what you do to get enough money to support your "real" life, and concentrate on making the rest of your time enjoyable. the side project is a good start, but also exercise more, take up some non-tech-related hobby (maybe one you ca…

Surprised I had to scroll down this far to find this comment. I came to essentially say the same thing. You don't have to love your job. It's great when you can, but sometimes, it's worth just looking at it for what it is - the means to support your family, and focus on friends/interests outside of work. Often I see "Start a side project", and while that can be a worthy endeavor, it might just make you feel like you work all day, then work all night, and hurt those relationships at home.

Find happiness in your life outside of what you do, and some day that will force itself into your career, even if it has to do it without your knowledge. Happier people interview better, look healthier, and generally find a way to do things better. Be careful tagging it with "Depression", unless you've shown symptoms of clinical depression throughout your life, and likely if it is clinical, this won't be the first time, and your job isn't the cause. If it IS clinical, then seek help.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#58

Post by plikan13 »

It's funny how many people recommend exercise or meditation as if this is going to make you forget that you hate your job. If anything, meditation is only going to make this more clear. Hating your job is a pretty big problem that you will only solve by changing the circumstances of your employment. You don't owe anybody unhappiness, not even your wife or kids.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#59

Post by mcnees287 »

DanBC wrote: post #55
the_economist wrote: post #21

The following things are proven to make you happier (and smarter!). I try to do all of them. 1) Exercise for at least 60 minutes/day. I recommend getting a pedometer and walking 12,000 steps/day, plus working out with weights 2-4 times/week 2) Gratitude -- try to spend time every day thinking about the things you are grateful for 3) Meditation -- 10 minutes/day. It works. Studies prove it! 4) Relationship with the su…

> The following things are proven to make you happier > exercise There is only weak evidence of the psychological benefit of exercise. Exercise is useful for other reasons, but please don't use words like "proven" when talking about fixing low mood.

You don't exercise, do you?

Re: Ask HN: What should I do if I feel depressed in my job?

#60

Post by a3n »

See your doctor and explore all the options. You might discuss drugs, counseling/therapy, prayer, meditation, diet, exercise, hobbies/diversions, any number of things depending on your specific situation. You might choose to try any of those or other options. But see your doctor.
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