Burnout and Depression Among IT Workers?

Cultural Sublimation asks: "All of us working in IT seem to be especially prone to problems like burnout and depression. Could part of the reason be directly related to our professions? Recently, there have been a number of interesting features on Kuro5hin which have focused precisely on this issue. From people claiming that " The Internet Is Driving Me Crazy", to an in-depth two-part series trying to demystify depression, the message is that too much information might be making us sick. What are the experiences of fellow Slashdot readers on this topic?"

Comments

ADD via the Internet

[dave-tx]

I'm sure it's nothing unique or particularly unusual, but I've found that over the past few years my attention span has become very short. I attribute this to the Internet and the ability to get information about anything I want very quickly.

Television, radio, and even my favorite hobby of listening to music seem to need to be supplanted by something else. I used to enjoy sitting down, putting on a CD or record and just listening. Now, I get bored too quickly - and that makes me somewhat sad (but not depressed).

Re:ADD via the Internet

[digitalchinky]

While it 'may' be attributable to the internet, could it not be more likely linked to age, diet, and numerous other physiological changes.

Ok, I personally blame slashdot in full, though the things that the article submitter describe are common to humanity in general, not just geeks.

Re:ADD via the Internet

[MrAnnoyanceToYou]

When you've got a brain the size of a planet, like most geeks, it's quite easy to see the outcome of all things. The pointlessness of it all. I'm going to go take a nap.

On-topic, my guess is that a big piece of it is that tech workers tend away, habitually and culturally, from physical exercise and good eating habits. I started doing yoga (cap?) a month and a half ago, and err... yeah. Speaking of changes in attitude and life style... Wow. My suggestion if you're feeling like crap is to go find a physical activity you enjoy (rock climbing, yoga, swimming, sex, etc.) and egage in it regularly. I suggest, as well, that it become rather easy for you to participate in, (which automatically excludes certain options for most people who spend enough time in front of a computer) so that you don't have to FORCE yourself to do it.

As an aside, I love Yoga, and my pot belly is going the way of the dodo, slowly.

Most of all, remember that being athletic and doing something physical every few days at LEAST is something that will make you feel better after a month or more of dedication. Funny how you can spend six months perfecting a rocket jump but be frustrated when you don't feel any change in your body after eating right for a few days....

And if you get that mental point where you think, "Jesus, I've been doing the same thing for ten seconds now and I can't stand it," physical activity will show you, eventually, that standing it is completely possible, and you will enjoy it later.

Re:ADD via the Internet

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're anything like me, it's not just information overload...

I look at news sites all the time and see stories just re-affirming my views that the better portion of humans are fucking morons.

This is very depressing.

Like most geeks, I find most shit I am forced to put up with each day boring as hell.

Also very depressing.

Hell, what _isn't_ depressing?

Even reading Slashot and other forums and seeing the intelligence of your average net-goer is depressing. (As a completely off-topic note, everyone should run their forums like these: http://www.facepunchstudios.com/forums/ (check the ban list link))

Bah. I'm going to go stare at a wall or bash my head with a plank of wood or something.

The Malaise of the Middle Classes

[Anonymous Coward]

America's middle classes have never had it so good. Two decades of economic success have brought wealth and happiness to anybody who was prepared to work hard. Americans are now better off in real terms than at any previous time in our history. Indeed, President Clinton himself went as far as to say that we are living in an "era of unprecedented prosperity". But scratch the surface of this glittering facade, and you will find not everything in the garden is rosy.

A certain minority of Americans are inventing new illnesses in order to avoid work.

The economic miracle that was started off by Ronald Reagan in the 80s, and continued through the George Bush Sr and Clinton administrations is one the wonders of the modern world. The solid economic base of Amreica, coupled with the explosion of the American designed world-wide-web and Internet have created opportunities for all regardless of education, race, sex or class. Anyone in America who wants a job will be able to take their pick from a selection of attractive and highly paid positions due to the strength of the American economy.

So why is it then that the middle classes have taken to faking diseases and why are otherwise respectable physicians joining in this collective fraud ?

Dyslexia, M.E., Attention Deficit Disorder, Repetitive Strain Injury, Anorexia. You have probably heard of these diseases before. At least one of your co-workers has probably taken time off work for one of these 'illnesses' in the last month. And yet, up until now no evidence has been produced to support the existence of any these afflictions as actual medical conditions. Let's analyse these 'sicknesses' one by one.

• Dyslexia. This is the 'diagnosis' given to a middle class child who cannot read owing to low intelligence. It is an attempt to medicalize a problem which in reality is a social one: All men are not created equal. When God gave out the brains, some of us were fortunate enough to be given a shiny new BMW 7-Series sedan, some of us got '97 5.0 Mustang, and some of us (the unfortunate few) got nothing more than an old skateboard.
  
  Dyslexia does not exist. Stupid children who cannot read do exist.
• M.E. (also known as the 'yuppie flu'). Again the middle classes cannot stomach the fact that they are not superhuman beings. Consequently when one of them needs to take a day off work, due to being what normal people would call "tired" they medicalize the problem (by giving it a long medical-sounding name) and hey-presto you can get all the time off work you want. Not bad for simply being tired. I wonder what our forefathers who built America by the sweat of their brows would say to a modern yuppie suffering from M.E. ?
  
  M.E. does not exist. People who need to go to bed a bit earlier do exist.
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). This one is quite sinister. For thousands of years, children were allowed to be carefree spirits, wandering wherever the mood took them. Investigating a world which is new and fresh to them, getting distracted when something more interesting came along. This was cal

Burn out is putting it mildly.

[infojunkie]

I've been experiencing this 'effect' lately.

I'm the sole developer on a fairly elaborate project. Everything tech related is my responsibility. Site design and architecture, development, support, training, hardware, software, security, everything.

Early on, it wasn't so bad. Then a year went by. Then two. The third has now completed and I'm entering the fourth. Some days I sit at my desk staring at the screen. In my mind, I'm running through everything I should be doing, but I can't seem to get my fingers to do the typing or my legs to move me to the other side of the room to the desk where I work on hardware.

I almost didn't bother typing this... but it's kind of theraputic in a way.

Anyway, lately I seem to find all kinds of 'filler' activities to consume my time. Reading up on the latest changes to the various software we use, keeping up with /. , or browsing forums for new knowledge. All (mostly) legit use of my time, but it's starting to feel like it is all I can, or want, to do. The worst part is, nothing seems to stick anymore. I'll read some info on a site and not remember it a day later.

Sure, I can probably remember most of the topics on /. but ultimately who cares about that. I sit, frustrated at myself and the amount of mounting work... a pile that grows exponentially it seems... Yet I can't seem to motivate myself to change it. I recognize that it's happening... I see the crash ahead of me. It's not that I'm apathetic or lazy, but I sure seem to be behaving that way. Is this a symptom of depression?

I've never really thought of myself as someone who gets depressed. Maybe that's denial talking. How does one check for that?

More importantly, how does one go about kick-starting their motivation again? I've tried little side projects that are related to what I do already, in the hopes that will gain me some momentum and I can then change lanes and keep working, but I can't even seem to build up any steam.

Even as I type I'm getting bored. Could be because I figure nobody will even care what I'm typing in the first place. Then again, if it helps someone else, or someone with insight can explain it then maybe it was worth it.

I wonder if there's anything good on tv right now?

Depression an occupational hazard

[mutterc]

I think our (geeks') analytical abilities allow us to easily see things that ordinary people would rather ignore, in order to save their sanity. (Examples: the uselessness of company loyalty, the direction of society, etc.)

Programming and IT are racing to the bottom awfully fast. If these industries are what you experience most of, you can (fallaciously) extrapolate that to other industries. For example, in my dark moments, I've wondered why cars don't yet require subscriptions to keep driving. I've also wondered when restaurants are going to make you start signing waivers before you eat there.

Likewise, we can fallaciously extrapolate the dismal quality of software to other industries. (See the old "if cars were like computers" joke). I spent a couple years in support at my company; some customers actually like our product, though, after my experience, I'm surprised that our boxes ever boot up at all, much less occasionally do something useful. I can recognize now that that's a warped perspective.

Re:Exercise

[LWATCDR]

I would also recommend bicycling as a great geek sport. Full of gadgets. You want a flame war. Just start the XTR vs SRAM debate. Should a frame be AL, Ti, or Carbon fiber. Of course you have the Steel is Real group.
Yes we sit on our butts all day. Believe that coke, pizza and snickers bars are a balanced diet, and what is worse do not spend enough time with our family.

I think that has got to be the biggest one. Find a good spouse and get married. I did and I have dropped 60lbs, eat food that does not go from the freezer to the microwave to the table all in the same cardboard, and actually have fun doing things that do not require ending each line in a ; or }

There is more to life than gadgets.
Have kids :) think of all the cool toys you can buy for them.

Slashdot!

[mutterc]

I've really noticed Slashdot being a depressive influence. During my darker times I have to give it up, to try to fight the downward spiral.

Reading Slashdot for long enough, you start to wonder when corporations are simply going to take over the government, make slavery legal again, and start charging lifetime subscriptions for products you can only use for a year.

The fact that all the depressing things reported here are true doesn't help. Knowing that you / your industry / society / etc. is heading towards a race-to-the-bottom cliff, and not being able to do a damn thing about it, is awfully depressive.

Andrew Solomon (referenced above) mentioned in a "Bush Survival Guide" of antidepressant tips I got for Xmas:

Recent research has shown that depressed people have a more accurate worldview than the non-depressed. The same research also says that a more accurate worldview is not an advantage.

Serious Question

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a serious question. Post anonymous for obvious reason. In the real world, people cannot discuss health issues, especially mental health issues. I'm really wondering just how many people have had the same problems as I have. I graduated college almost 10 years ago. After college I got a decent paying job, got an apartment, all the usual stuff. Everything I thought I wanted up to that point. I even had a fiance. American dream so to speak. I became very disappointed. The work was not what I expected, the hours were not what I expected, my life was not what I expected. I quickly fell into depression.

I was known as a talented guy at work. Was quickly moving up the ranks. It required a lot of work and study on my part to maintain this level. Eventually the depression increased to the point of affecting my work. It became harder and harder to come to work. I was drinking extreme amounts of coffee to maintain concentration. After some time of this, I had my first panic attack. Was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, thought I was having a heart attack. My heart rate was going crazy. Doctors thought I was on drugs, but I surely was not. They advised me to see my physician about my heart rate and released me. My physician asked me about my stress levels and I told him I was pretty stressed. He sent me to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist put me on zoloft and sent me away. After a couple weeks of small amounts of zoloft I felt great! I could concentrate. I could get up in the morning. I was happy. I even stopped caffeine. My work returned to levels it had previously been.

With this newfound ability, I began taking on more work and working harder to move up. This continued a number of years. About every year so, I start getting back into that state. At which point I increase the dosage, with consent of a doc, and am able to take on more work. I am now considered a very high level programmer and can do many things that others have not. Though this has all come with a price. When I think about it, I wonder what is going to make this stop. Unfortunately, I think it will take something serious to happen. Does anyone else drive themselves like this or am I just crazy.

Re:One should take into account more variables.

[judd]

I have the opposite problem: my productivity declines as my tasks get simpler.

Wow. That is exactly my problem. Complex tasks are engaging enough that they consititute a world of distraction in themselves.

Perhaps this is why I have a lot of unfinished projects. Once it's obvious what needs to be done, and the real mysteries are cracked, you leave the rest as an exercise for the student.

If only I had a student.

Re:Nothing like working 80+ hours a week

[bill_mcgonigle]

Really, its come down to 2 parents working to make a living so you can spend time with the family. Good jobs require you to put in more hours, ding ding, problem here...

So many people get caught on this exercise wheel they don't realize not running is an option.

You don't have to live there. You don't have to work for a megalocorp. Your wife can stay home with the kids. It's a matter of identifying the really important priorities in your life and doing what it takes to achieve them.

Sure, you probably can't live in a 5000 sq ft. house with a jacuzzi bathtub, marble toilet seats and a 68" plasma TV on the living room wall - but that's a conscious choice. McMansions aren't for everybody, and it sounds like you may be paying for one when you don't really want it.

If you're good at something you can opt for a simpler life and still make enough to live comfortable, if not extravagantly.

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance

[Anonymous Coward]

Seeing the business owners walk with 10s of millions generated from my inventiveness and energy, suck the company dry and leave me with a skeleton business with no future (too much to die, too little to live) was enough to get me depressed for three years and counting, with no energy left for rebooting.

I'm waiting for the Acceptance phase to kick in. So far, it hasn't.

Re:Exercise

[david.given]

...exercise as in you're in the zone for a solid 15 minutes at least.

What is this 'zone' thing of which you speak?

No, I'm not being facetious. Some of us don't have one. I don't, for example; no matter how much I do, no matter how I do it, I find exercise very uncomfortable and utterly boring. I don't phase out, I have to keep concentrating every moment.

I'm not unfit; I'm about 75kg or so, right at the median for my body size, I cycle to work and back each day, but the simple fact is that continued anaerobic exercise is hideously uncomfortable and remains so. I used to go to the gym and doing things like running a kilometre without any practice before hand isn't a problem. I just hate it. I gave up going to the gym because I really wasn't enjoying it and I kept finding myself making excuses not to go, and frankly, life's too short.

(I have experienced the endorphin rush that I think you're talking about a few times --- but it's never been with anaerobic exercise; always aerobic. Hill walking, actually, which is at least interesting, unlike running on a treadmill. Alas, there are no hills near where I live.)

Re:Kuro5hin?

[pipingguy]

Some would say that the 24 hour news cycle (created, or at least lit by CNN) is responsible.

Burnout & Depression

[log0n]

I've been there. I burned out - major depression. I use technology in my business (self employed - indy film & videography), but I don't give a hang about it anymore. I'd rather do something with all of the tech than learn about the tech just for the sake of it being there.

For me, basically my whole life was wrapped up in the computer. Programming, projects, hobbies, my identity - how people recognized me and interacted with me - and often what they interacted over.. all of it was dependent on the computer (and none of this was in an unhealthy obsessive way - for example the antisocial EQ addicts, I was nothing like that - technology was just my drug that got me high and made me my real world friends).

When I finally burned out, I had very little else to 'me' that didn't involve computers or programming or technology in some way. Major depression ensued. Fortunately for me though, because I've never been the antisocial type, I had a pretty good support system around me that kept me from really offing myself over everything. I've found new hobbies, I've restarted my 'life' and learned from my past mistakes. No one aspect of what I enjoy or what I do defines me anymore.

Kind of a rambling of thoughts and not to coherent, but I've definitely been there. For those of you afraid of having the same thing happen, start branching out now. Make friends and hobbies that don't involve binary. Learn to spend time away from the comp and not feel like you're missing something terribly crucial.

And get A LOT of excercise.