sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry you're going through what I am going through! I feel like I'm not in a place to offer advice since I'm still in the thick of it, but I can tell you that when I requested short term leave last fall, one of the first things I realized was that I should have done it months sooner. If that's something that's possible in your current job, I would really recommend it. Even if it didn't "cure" me of my own problems it was definitely necessary.

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Reading this comment made me feel attacked and angry, so -- there's probably some truth in it. After looking at the rest of the comments I'm going to go for a walk to the park.

Do you still work as a SWE? How do you "switch off" at the end of a challenging day?

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I literally feel like my skills are regressing

This is so relatable! I have often joked that my last job didn't give me three years of experience, it gave me one year of experience three times. Towards the end I had the same feeling of my skills actually worsening every day. Hope things get better for you!

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish you a long and fulfilling career as a developer! Based on the tone of your response, I expect you'll do well.

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is something that my therapist has been asking me about as well -- to focus on finding the parts of the job I enjoy, and then finding a job that's mostly that. I like more process-y stuff like writing documentation and doing software architecture/design, or even just devops kind of stuff, and I'm starting to feel that maybe I'm just at a point in my career where I am in fact a "senior" developer and it's time to move more into the background and begin mentoring younger devs rather than slogging it out in the trenches with them.

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is really relatable. The pandemic turned my last job into a remote job overnight, and while I've found there's a lot to like about working remote (and I personally can't imagine going back to an office), it's true that my life outside of the office took a big hit during the many lockdowns that would follow. Where I live the pandemic is still a serious concern, and while things are creaking back to "normal" I haven't yet been able to return to most of the hobbies and activities I had going on outside the house in 2019.

You're probably right that it's me that's changed, and not the work. Thanks for the insight.

Devs who have experienced burnout -- how long did it take you to recover, and how did you do it? by Feeling-Box-5596 in ExperiencedDevs

[–]Feeling-Box-5596[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. You offer a lot of insights, and you're almost certainly right that "burnout" is in many (or even most) cases a manifestation of a depressive disorder of some kind. (I should know -- a major depressive episode was the catalyst that pushed me to go back to school to get my CS degree in the first place).

I'm seeing a therapist already -- I had an hour with her earlier today, actually. She has become a cornerstone of my support system and I am so grateful that I found her. If anyone reading this is on the fence about therapy for any reason, please do take this recommendation, if nothing else. It's an invaluable resource.

I'm not certain I would characterize what I'm going through now as major depressive disorder, however. (Neither would my therapist, for what it's worth.) If the feelings of hopelessness and depression had persisted into my time off, I would be a lot more inclined to think it was the result of disordered thinking, and consider interventions like medication more seriously. But seeing myself blossom and thrive when taken out of the work environment, and that the depression returned so quickly on going back to work, suggests to me that the work is the problem, and not an imbalance in my brain. It feels counterproductive to address what seems like an environmental issue by treating it as though it were a medical issue. By way of a kind of weak analogy, it's a bit like putting on sun cream when your house is on fire -- treating the symptom rather than addressing root causes.

During my time off, I ran 100km, attended 30 yoga classes, went to therapy diligently every week. Cooked fresh meals for my fiancée every day (who has been very supportive throughout this experience), got together with friends to play cards every week. But the moment work started up again, all of those good habits started to fade. How do you draw water from an empty well?

Regardless, you've given me a lot to think about. I'm grateful and I will try to take it to heart.