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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?

#61

Post by DanBC »

mcnees287 wrote: post #59
DanBC wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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?

There have been some studies testing exercise for depression -- they compare exercise against no treatment or exercise against treatment.

When you only include well run studies you find minimal benefit for exercise vs no treatment -- it's a little bit better than not doing anything. There's no reason to expect this would be different for exercise vs treatment -- when you use good quality trials you will probably see very little benefit, and the benefit of actually getting a real fucking treatment is probably going to be better.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004366...

Here's the authors extract for clarity:

> Exercise is moderately more effective than a control intervention for reducing symptoms of depression, but analysis of methodologically robust trials only shows a smaller effect in favour of exercise. When compared to psychological or pharmacological therapies, exercise appears to be no more effective, though this conclusion is based on a few small trials.

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

#63

Post by Thriptic »

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?

I was very depressed at my job for similar reasons (albeit in research rather than as a developer), and I definitely had trouble making progress. One thing that really helped for me was exploring what other people in other research groups were working on. I ended up discovering that other people in my lab were doing awesome things with machine learning (which I had no experience with but found to be really cool).

I decided to put in the bare minimum effort doing the grunt work I was assigned to do normally, and used my free time at work and at home to study machine learning / data science and to speak with the other research team to develop a background in their project. The topic switch and sense of purpose changed my outlook on the job entirely, and after demonstrating that I could add value to their project, this other research group was able to convince my boss to transfer me to their project which has been awesome and led to many cool opportunities.

I would encourage you to explore what other people at your job are working on. Maybe you can move laterally into a role which you find to be more interesting, or at least discover an opportunity to build interesting skills.

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

#64

Post by mendelevium »

griffinmahon wrote: post #23
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…

I know that diet is important, but could you specify about "anti-inflammatory"? Just interested, thanks!

Inflammation is linked to depression http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288715.php

14 Foods That Fight Inflammation http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20705881,00.html

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

#65

Post by [deleted] »

gabamnml wrote: post #34
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…

I think the most important part is to exercise. The body releases endorphins which are the ones responsible to make humans happier.

[deleted]

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

#67

Post by ryanSrich »

EC1 wrote: post #13
mrcold wrote: post #8

Welcome to the club. We don't have free drinks or anything. Only endless depression and no will to continue. But seriously, things are fucked and it's only getting worse. I'm in the same shoes and I'm trying a startup in my spare time. Plus, the guy running our project decided to quit and leave me alone with a monster made out of spaghetti code. Just finished updating my resume, hoping I won't need to use it. Don't h…

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 work from home too. But that doesn't mean we have the easiest job.

An old saying a coach of mine had "if it was easy, everyone would do it". So if it's easy, why isn't everyone doing it?

...also, what is stupid money? $200k+? anything less than that is just called regular money.

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

#68

Post by moneytide »

I was a warehouse worker at Amazon for a year and I made sure I sweat every day there. I would challenge myself to move product quicker and avoid forklift duty (standing in place). Requesting the labor intensive duties allowed me to use the chemical energy (food) I was inputting instead of it all going into storage from sitting in a chair all day.

After a while, I started feeling depressed. It was a combination of the monotony and a lack of purpose, and it wouldn't help when I would encounter the occasional order of cat toys or extremely overpriced items that could have been purchased at a dollar store for 400% less. I was enjoying the constant movement but there was no pride in my work. Its not like building a structure where you can witness the fruits of your toil. Because everyday was predictable and simple, I would say that I felt that my mental facilities were deteriorating at an accelerated rate which prompted my abrupt leave (without a notice).

Sometimes I would research the internal Wiki for what the AWS engineers were saying to each other. It was interesting, but I'm sure I was only doing it because I knew they made more money than me. This is where I went wrong because comparing yourself to someone else is an inefficient use of your brains resources.

My duties were simple and I felt like a grunt but I've always been in shape and never get sick. I'm fundamentally opposed to the idea of gyms because you're paying a group of people to make sure theres a place with air conditioning where you can pick up iron and put it back down in the same place. Or run in place like a hamster (some places have tracks, I know, but round and round it goes). I understand that sometimes weather will prevent an outdoor run or hike, but just do something. Rearrange the house. Build something with heavy parts. Run up your stairs every time you use them. Theres always a way to get your blood flowing without allocating a specific hour of your schedule.

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

#69

Post by cylinder714 »

I got myself fired from a job a few years ago, and it occurred to me recently that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) was probably a contributing factor. I'd been feeling low and bored for quite a while leading up to the event, working in a darkened room with a desk lamp, as no one wanted the fluorescent lights turned on.

I like the_economist 's advice in general, and particularly the bit about getting outside, but suggest that longer meditation is fine, too, and perhaps try bodyweight workouts before getting into barbell/dumbell training. I just got a copy of Convict Conditioning and find it and the idea of bodyweight exercise compelling, and you can't beat the price. (See the FAQ at /r/bodyweightfitness for more.)

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

#70

Post by isenthil »

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…

@Adeptus - I like your statement on "Don't be loyal, just be professional in other words, and live for the time when you are not at work."

Very true :)

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