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1. Quitting and finding a new job doing the same thing (dev I presume) might not solve the issues. It could lead to additional stressors that worsen the proble

1. Quitting and finding a new job doing the same thing (dev I presume) might not solve the issues. It could lead to additional stressors that worsen the problem. 2. As an employer, make it easy for me! Be able to say what's going on matter-of-factly with a focus on how you feel and how it affects yourself. Don't focus on other people, now is not the time to air grievances within the team. Come up with a few options you'd like to try and lay out the pros / cons (ex. lightened work load for a month, different project, extended unpaid vacation for 1-3 months). 3. See a psychologist! It may be hard to find a good one, but it is totally 100% worth it to have a professional that you can talk to openly.

warfangle 11y ago
I can't stress (no pun intended) #3 enough. Mental health is too stigmatized. See a good psychologist! Many specialize in this type of stress. In addition, try guided meditation (I use Headspace). It feels kind of hokey at first, but it really helped me through a burnout period.
- zo1 11y ago
  What exactly do you talk to a psychologist about? I've often mused with the idea, perhaps there is some systemic issue that I need to have help with identifying and resolving... But then...what? Perhaps we have all seen way too many movies involving psychologists/psychiatrists, that it's slanted our view. I know it has slanted it for me.
  - jtfairbank 11y ago
    It's a comfortable environment where you can discuss what's happening to you, how you are thinking about it, and how it makes you feel. The psychologist will be able to provide suggestions about the situation, your way of thinking, and how to manage your feelings. They can teach you techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, or just provide an unbiased outside point of view. Most importantly, they are detached from the situation (unlike a coworker or friend) and have professional training and experience at helping people with their problems. Often times when I see a psychologist I end up figuring out how to improve my situation on my own. Having a place to spend time thinking about the issues in a calmer way, and the occasional suggestion or a good question, let me tackle my issues from a different point of view. Repeated visits (once every two weeks to start, then once a month) for a period of time provide motivation to put these realizations into action. When I feel better, I stop going.
  - DanBC 11y ago
    Ideally you want to find someone offering cognitive behaviour therapy. You want an experienced practitioner. One to one face to face settings are better, but some people like group meetings or find telephone consults convenient. For a mild problem you would be doing between 8 to 14 sessions of about an hour each. The aim would be to indentify a problem. Then identify the "hot thought", the emotion it creates, how strongly you feel that emotion, and then the evidence you have for it. You don't push that thought away, the therapist doesn't try to correct it. You sit with it for a few moments. You learn to identify the physical changes your body goes through (increased heart rate, sweaty palms, faster breathing, tense neck etc). Then you think of different evidence. You think about that new evidence, and say if it affects how strongly you feel the original hot thought. It's an iterative process! This is just a very quick description - it's a bit more involved than that. You're right - movies are terrible portrayals of mental health treatment. Like CSI does computers level of bad.
    - warfangle 11y ago
      I think the best portrayal of mental health treatment I've seen was Josh Lyman's treatment for PTSD on The West Wing. And it still had a lot wrong with it.
ThorArakis 11y ago
I can't agree more with point 2. If you're looking for change without going to a new place then it's likely that your manager will be more then willing to try working with you. This is a tactic you should employ when approaching your manager with any type of grievance (interpersonal problems, project issues, etc). Coming up with potential solutions gives your manager something to begin enacting immediately. It also really reframes the discussion by showing that your a person looking to solve problems instead of just complaining. Finally providing your own solutions also moves the locus of control internally. In my experience one possible contributor to burnout can be lack of empowerment.
cakes 11y ago
Per #1 - make sure it isn't just change just for the sake of change and that the likelihood is that you'll end up experiencing the same problems (but probably a different spin) is possible. Before you hop jobs make sure it will really resolve some problems you have and won't be experiencing "same shit, different day/place/employer"

warfangle 11y ago

I can't stress (no pun intended) #3 enough. Mental health is too stigmatized. See a good psychologist! Many specialize in this type of stress. In addition, try guided meditation (I use Headspace). It feels kind of hokey at first, but it really helped me through a burnout period.

zo1 11y ago
What exactly do you talk to a psychologist about? I've often mused with the idea, perhaps there is some systemic issue that I need to have help with identifying and resolving... But then...what? Perhaps we have all seen way too many movies involving psychologists/psychiatrists, that it's slanted our view. I know it has slanted it for me.
- jtfairbank 11y ago
  It's a comfortable environment where you can discuss what's happening to you, how you are thinking about it, and how it makes you feel. The psychologist will be able to provide suggestions about the situation, your way of thinking, and how to manage your feelings. They can teach you techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, or just provide an unbiased outside point of view. Most importantly, they are detached from the situation (unlike a coworker or friend) and have professional training and experience at helping people with their problems. Often times when I see a psychologist I end up figuring out how to improve my situation on my own. Having a place to spend time thinking about the issues in a calmer way, and the occasional suggestion or a good question, let me tackle my issues from a different point of view. Repeated visits (once every two weeks to start, then once a month) for a period of time provide motivation to put these realizations into action. When I feel better, I stop going.
- DanBC 11y ago
  Ideally you want to find someone offering cognitive behaviour therapy. You want an experienced practitioner. One to one face to face settings are better, but some people like group meetings or find telephone consults convenient. For a mild problem you would be doing between 8 to 14 sessions of about an hour each. The aim would be to indentify a problem. Then identify the "hot thought", the emotion it creates, how strongly you feel that emotion, and then the evidence you have for it. You don't push that thought away, the therapist doesn't try to correct it. You sit with it for a few moments. You learn to identify the physical changes your body goes through (increased heart rate, sweaty palms, faster breathing, tense neck etc). Then you think of different evidence. You think about that new evidence, and say if it affects how strongly you feel the original hot thought. It's an iterative process! This is just a very quick description - it's a bit more involved than that. You're right - movies are terrible portrayals of mental health treatment. Like CSI does computers level of bad.
  - warfangle 11y ago
    I think the best portrayal of mental health treatment I've seen was Josh Lyman's treatment for PTSD on The West Wing. And it still had a lot wrong with it.

ThorArakis 11y ago

I can't agree more with point 2. If you're looking for change without going to a new place then it's likely that your manager will be more then willing to try working with you. This is a tactic you should employ when approaching your manager with any type of grievance (interpersonal problems, project issues, etc). Coming up with potential solutions gives your manager something to begin enacting immediately. It also really reframes the discussion by showing that your a person looking to solve problems instead of just complaining. Finally providing your own solutions also moves the locus of control internally. In my experience one possible contributor to burnout can be lack of empowerment.

cakes 11y ago

Per #1 - make sure it isn't just change just for the sake of change and that the likelihood is that you'll end up experiencing the same problems (but probably a different spin) is possible. Before you hop jobs make sure it will really resolve some problems you have and won't be experiencing "same shit, different day/place/employer"