I made a couple million and then lost it all, including the wife and kids. I muddle along now making enough to pay the rent. I don't want to end up like Phil Katz of pkzip fame, but I've come close. I don't know why I am posting this except as a cautionary tale -- stop drinking when you are young. Really. It doesn't get better.
I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
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Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#2[deleted]
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#3Please find a meeting near you. http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#4I struggle with nicotine, caffeine, and porn. I take Chantix and run at the gym which in combination helps a great deal, but I still relapse now and then on the nicotine. The others I seem to have overcome completely. I had to change my life and I also found spirituality, something I had denied due to insecurity and unwillingness to accept others. I wish you luck.
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#5I struggle with nicotine, caffeine, and porn. I take Chantix and run at the gym which in combination helps a great deal, but I still relapse now and then on the nicotine. The others I seem to have overcome completely. I had to change my life and I also found spirituality, something I had denied due to insecurity and unwillingness to accept others. I wish you luck.
I had a gap in my professional career where I didn't code nor worked with computers very much and I saw a decrease in addictive behavior.
Can we blame programming or isolation when coding, is this a professional disability?
Too bad that there is no real interest in studying this issues from a psychological/sociological point of view.
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#6I have struggled with porn at times and have done a lot of research on addictions. I also have a couple friends who are alcoholics. IMO, Gabor Mate has been the best resource I have found on understanding addictions. His theory is that addictions start in childhood due to some kind of constant, ongoing stress. It could be something like abusive parents or severe bullying. When we find something that temporarily relieves the stress, our body latches on to it and doesn't want to let go. Personally, I've found that understanding addiction and the addictive cycle has helped me a lot. From meditation, I've also become much more aware of my body sensations and understanding the danger periods when I am getting stressed.
After I did a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat, I put together https://www.programmingspiritually.com to try to help other developers that face some of the same issues. Email me if you're interested and I'll sign you up for the course for free.
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#7I struggle with nicotine, caffeine, and porn. I take Chantix and run at the gym which in combination helps a great deal, but I still relapse now and then on the nicotine. The others I seem to have overcome completely. I had to change my life and I also found spirituality, something I had denied due to insecurity and unwillingness to accept others. I wish you luck.
I had a gap in my professional career where I didn't code nor worked with computers very much and I saw a decrease in addictive behavior. Can we blame programming or isolation when coding, is this a professional disability? Too bad that there is no real interest in studying this issues from a psychological/sociological point of view.
Personally, in my experience, I have found it to be because of the constant thinking and amount of concentration required. Our brains use a disproportionately large amount of our bodies resources and I believe this leads to large amounts of stress when done too much. I'm a big believer that programmers should not code more than 4 hours per day so that our minds have enough to rest and recover properly.
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a gap in my professional career where I didn't code nor worked with computers very much and I saw a decrease in addictive behavior. Can we blame programming or isolation when coding, is this a professional disability? Too bad that there is no real interest in studying this issues from a psychological/sociological point of view.
Personally, in my experience, I have found it to be because of the constant thinking and amount of concentration required. Our brains use a disproportionately large amount of our bodies resources and I believe this leads to large amounts of stress when done too much. I'm a big believer that programmers should not code more than 4 hours per day so that our minds have enough to rest and recover properly.
That reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut: "We’re only smart four hours a day."
http://www.forbes.com/2006/01/18/james-brady-on-media-cx_jb_...
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#9If your drinking is costing you more than money its usually a problem. Alcoholism is an equal opportunity employer. Are you Willing to take action to stop drinking ? You are not alone; there are many who have similar experiences. Many of these problem drinkers made a decision that today was going to be the day that they started to save their own lives.
Re: I am a successful software dev but I have a serious drinking problem
#10Please find a meeting near you. http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/
No, please don't.
http://skepfeeds.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/alcoholics-anonymo...
There are more effective, non religious, evidence based treatments for addiction.
Edited to add: Penn and Teller covered AA here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yUG9dr6SZSY
Also: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/75-years-a...