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

Re:The Malaise of the Middle Classes

[Blkdeath]

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.

I wish you'd posted under your user ID so that I could befriend you (since I'm currently bereft of mod points). What you say is absolutely true; I couldn't agree more. I, myself have been diagnosed with ADD and depression - both of which resulted in prescription medication. That medication was flushed down the toilet and all adults involved at the time began to congratulate themselves on a job well done. The medications, as it turned out, were a placebo for those around me.

My case is/was not unique. I can't sit still and take in lots of read materials unless I'm fascinated/engrossed by the subject. In school, of course, they expect students to sit attentively through 4-8 classes of varying length from 30-65 minutes and ingest materials read from an overhead projector. Gym class? 30 minutes/day for half the year. Shop classes? The first year is book-learning before you're allowed to touch mechanical devices or tools. Is it any wonder students are found more often than not pie-eyed and delerious?

Depression, of course, is the failure of society to admit that with our 'up' moods must come 'down' stages. If we're never down how can we truly enjoy being upbeat and happy?

Much as I hate to seem like I'm karma-whoring, I highly reccomend Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World to anyone who hasn't yet read it. It shows the opposite extreme of 1984 where we don't require a tyrannical oppressor to keep us in line; our penchant towards passive, euphoric means of entertainment will keep us apathetic and lazy.