6 ms·

Its like being a cat trapped in the washing machine on spin cycle. The only hope for escape is a power failure and mercy of someone who is aware you are inside.

Its like being a cat trapped in the washing machine on spin cycle. The only hope for escape is a power failure and mercy of someone who is aware you are inside. Stuck in a job completely burned out, there is nothing worse than the realization of the futility in any struggle to either escape or improve. The knowledge that your output has dropped, the feeling that it's your fault combined with nobody interested in helping you because they are annoyed about your lack of output. There are no doorhandles on the inside of this washing machine. My only advice is to meow as loud as you can.

amelius 6y ago
Sleep as long as you can.
- NortySpock 6y ago
  Sure, if you can sleep.
  - tachyonbeam 6y ago
    For those of us who are working from home right now, sleeping is easier than ever.
    - mancerayder 6y ago
      Insomnia is pretty high on the list of pandemic lockdown issues at the moment, not to mention burnout symptoms. Some people I know can sleep sitting on a plane, and others can scarcely sleep at night, horizontal, in a quiet room, on a soft bed.
      - yters 6y ago
        A hard workout, waking up early and avoiding caffeine help me a lot with insomnia.
        Rapzid 6y ago
        A "hard" workout. A hard workout can send cortisol through the roof and there will be little sleep.
        tachyonbeam 6y ago
        The half-life of cortisol is very short (comparable to that of cocaine): "The plasma clearance of cortisol is rapid, with a half-life of 66 min at normal hormone levels. With large steroid loads, however, the half-life increases to 120 min." If you work out in the morning or afternoon, avoid working ~3-4 hours before bed, you should be able to sleep just fine.
        yters 6y ago
        Depends on the timing of the workout, but speaking from personal experience an all day hike is perfect for generating a deep, restful night's sleep.
- ciceryadam 6y ago
  In one of my jobs I ended up in a position where at the end of it I hated going to work. So I stayed up late, so the dreaded work would still be a sleep away. So I was getting more and more upset about my position, fueled not just by being between a rock and a hard place, but also by this voluntary sleep deprivation. Human mind is weird, well, at least mine is.
- eeZah7Ux 6y ago
  Respectfully, mental health is way more complex than that. Psychologists have to study for 15+ years...
  - eeZah7Ux 6y ago
    Downvoted to -3 The HN crowds cleary knows more than psychologists.
marsrover 6y ago
Looking back on a previous job, I can now see that I was either becoming burned out or was burned out. This is a very apt analogy.
oriel 6y ago
This happened to me multiple times across multiple jobs. The first time, I was laid off with severance--a small mercy. The second time, I was run into the ground repeatedly as I tried to manage it. That time, I was dropkicked by my manager far over the line, and exited myself. This last job, I left the moment I felt it happening. My struggle now is to not make it a reflex, and a huge amount of my personal and life work has gone into improving communication (aka yowling techniques), and drawing lines in work/life/etc balance to sustain myself. Currently, I'm just avoiding the washing machine entirely.
- firecall 6y ago
  I'm with you man. It's brutal, and isolating. What is the yowling technique?
  - oriel 6y ago
    Just a continuation of the cat-in-washing-machine metaphor. Yowl instead of meow, where a real example would be learning how to have a hard, yet productive, conversation with your manager about issues which are or could lead to burnout.
- layoric 6y ago
  With you as well, will be avoiding the washing machine for at least 2 months over this Christmas/New year (and very lucky I can afford to) hoping that I can find my motivation again.
  - XorNot 6y ago
    Oh hey this is me as well.
    - titanomachy 6y ago
      Maybe we should start a club.
      - deleted 6y ago
nullsense 6y ago
Ah. So that's what's going on right now. I feel like the cycle is almost finished and I'm about to be hung out to dry.
MingLEnF 6y ago
So here I am. Experienced software engineer that is currently on sick/burnout leave, where I'm not only receiving full salary, but burnout being work related illness/impairment - company is covering (at least a dozen of) psychiatrist sessions. I can't imagine moving countries/continents on top of being burned out would be a good idea. Though you and others that mentioned being prone to recurrence should seriously consider moving somewhere else. Like one of countries in Europe where employers are responsible for employee well being, putting in effort on reintegration, re-training professions ...etc. --- On top of "there is nothing worse than the realization of the futility in any struggle to either escape or improve. The knowledge that your output has dropped, the feeling that it's your fault". At least for me the case was that there was also months/years long period of me thinking along the lines of "This shit is almost nothing compared to all the hard things I've been though in my life" (things spending summer break mixing concrete by hand with shovel to earn/save enough money for 10 or 15 years old computer, or living though a war ...etc)". So for those months/years I was trying (and at various times seemingly pulling off) to keep the level of my output by trying harder/smarter/better and lot's of good old burning of midnight oil ever longer. That is until part about being ever more annoyed about lack of output despite extra effort/hours/etc, which itself makes output kind of recursively worse - I got to a point where (with some encouragement from increasingly more and more physical symptoms that start like headache, bad stomach ...) I just couldn't keep doing that anymore. And basically every other thing/hobby/learning/etc that was previously fun/relaxing/entertaining/interesting (including playing with my kids) - stopped being fun/relaxing/entertaining/interesting/etc somewhere along the way. While you might be right about "Stuck in a job" and "with nobody interested in helping you because they are annoyed about your lack of output. There are no doorhandles on the inside of this washing machine."... Also keep in mind that under burnout/stress your thinking/perception/evaluation/etc is severely impaired/limited and generally skewed towards negative. So instead of just wondering/thinking and meowing somewhere where others might not hear/notice you, or notice your but not realize what your meow is - I would really (in scientific/objective sense) check if you're "stuck in a job with nobody interested in helping you". Perhaps clearly/officially ask for (hopefully paid) sick leave due to stress/burnout? OK I've seen/been at places where even that might be enough to get one fired. And sure there might be reasons that you can't risk that. Though again - actually do some research and compile a plan of "What else could I do to cover rent/food/etc until there's something better?" (cliche example of waiting tables is not working great during Covid-19, though many people are painting/renovating/extending their homes, food/groceries delivery services need more people ...). Since if you're completely right about everything including how much are others "annoyed about your lack of output" - you'll probably need to look for another job soon? --- PS. Although it's a throw away account because regularly used one often gives too many details about me and employer - I'll keep an eye on this thread and respond with same account for a while.

amelius 6y ago

Sleep as long as you can.

NortySpock 6y ago
Sure, if you can sleep.
- tachyonbeam 6y ago
  For those of us who are working from home right now, sleeping is easier than ever.
  - mancerayder 6y ago
    Insomnia is pretty high on the list of pandemic lockdown issues at the moment, not to mention burnout symptoms. Some people I know can sleep sitting on a plane, and others can scarcely sleep at night, horizontal, in a quiet room, on a soft bed.
    - yters 6y ago
      A hard workout, waking up early and avoiding caffeine help me a lot with insomnia.
      - Rapzid 6y ago
        A "hard" workout. A hard workout can send cortisol through the roof and there will be little sleep.
        tachyonbeam 6y ago
        The half-life of cortisol is very short (comparable to that of cocaine): "The plasma clearance of cortisol is rapid, with a half-life of 66 min at normal hormone levels. With large steroid loads, however, the half-life increases to 120 min." If you work out in the morning or afternoon, avoid working ~3-4 hours before bed, you should be able to sleep just fine.
        yters 6y ago
        Depends on the timing of the workout, but speaking from personal experience an all day hike is perfect for generating a deep, restful night's sleep.
ciceryadam 6y ago
In one of my jobs I ended up in a position where at the end of it I hated going to work. So I stayed up late, so the dreaded work would still be a sleep away. So I was getting more and more upset about my position, fueled not just by being between a rock and a hard place, but also by this voluntary sleep deprivation. Human mind is weird, well, at least mine is.
eeZah7Ux 6y ago
Respectfully, mental health is way more complex than that. Psychologists have to study for 15+ years...
- eeZah7Ux 6y ago
  Downvoted to -3 The HN crowds cleary knows more than psychologists.

marsrover 6y ago

Looking back on a previous job, I can now see that I was either becoming burned out or was burned out. This is a very apt analogy.

oriel 6y ago

This happened to me multiple times across multiple jobs. The first time, I was laid off with severance--a small mercy. The second time, I was run into the ground repeatedly as I tried to manage it. That time, I was dropkicked by my manager far over the line, and exited myself. This last job, I left the moment I felt it happening. My struggle now is to not make it a reflex, and a huge amount of my personal and life work has gone into improving communication (aka yowling techniques), and drawing lines in work/life/etc balance to sustain myself. Currently, I'm just avoiding the washing machine entirely.

firecall 6y ago
I'm with you man. It's brutal, and isolating. What is the yowling technique?
- oriel 6y ago
  Just a continuation of the cat-in-washing-machine metaphor. Yowl instead of meow, where a real example would be learning how to have a hard, yet productive, conversation with your manager about issues which are or could lead to burnout.
layoric 6y ago
With you as well, will be avoiding the washing machine for at least 2 months over this Christmas/New year (and very lucky I can afford to) hoping that I can find my motivation again.
- XorNot 6y ago
  Oh hey this is me as well.
  - titanomachy 6y ago
    Maybe we should start a club.
    - deleted 6y ago

nullsense 6y ago

Ah. So that's what's going on right now. I feel like the cycle is almost finished and I'm about to be hung out to dry.

MingLEnF 6y ago

So here I am. Experienced software engineer that is currently on sick/burnout leave, where I'm not only receiving full salary, but burnout being work related illness/impairment - company is covering (at least a dozen of) psychiatrist sessions. I can't imagine moving countries/continents on top of being burned out would be a good idea. Though you and others that mentioned being prone to recurrence should seriously consider moving somewhere else. Like one of countries in Europe where employers are responsible for employee well being, putting in effort on reintegration, re-training professions ...etc. --- On top of "there is nothing worse than the realization of the futility in any struggle to either escape or improve. The knowledge that your output has dropped, the feeling that it's your fault". At least for me the case was that there was also months/years long period of me thinking along the lines of "This shit is almost nothing compared to all the hard things I've been though in my life" (things spending summer break mixing concrete by hand with shovel to earn/save enough money for 10 or 15 years old computer, or living though a war ...etc)". So for those months/years I was trying (and at various times seemingly pulling off) to keep the level of my output by trying harder/smarter/better and lot's of good old burning of midnight oil ever longer. That is until part about being ever more annoyed about lack of output despite extra effort/hours/etc, which itself makes output kind of recursively worse - I got to a point where (with some encouragement from increasingly more and more physical symptoms that start like headache, bad stomach ...) I just couldn't keep doing that anymore. And basically every other thing/hobby/learning/etc that was previously fun/relaxing/entertaining/interesting (including playing with my kids) - stopped being fun/relaxing/entertaining/interesting/etc somewhere along the way. While you might be right about "Stuck in a job" and "with nobody interested in helping you because they are annoyed about your lack of output. There are no doorhandles on the inside of this washing machine."... Also keep in mind that under burnout/stress your thinking/perception/evaluation/etc is severely impaired/limited and generally skewed towards negative. So instead of just wondering/thinking and meowing somewhere where others might not hear/notice you, or notice your but not realize what your meow is - I would really (in scientific/objective sense) check if you're "stuck in a job with nobody interested in helping you". Perhaps clearly/officially ask for (hopefully paid) sick leave due to stress/burnout? OK I've seen/been at places where even that might be enough to get one fired. And sure there might be reasons that you can't risk that. Though again - actually do some research and compile a plan of "What else could I do to cover rent/food/etc until there's something better?" (cliche example of waiting tables is not working great during Covid-19, though many people are painting/renovating/extending their homes, food/groceries delivery services need more people ...). Since if you're completely right about everything including how much are others "annoyed about your lack of output" - you'll probably need to look for another job soon? --- PS. Although it's a throw away account because regularly used one often gives too many details about me and employer - I'll keep an eye on this thread and respond with same account for a while.