Thank you for the reply, this helps! > Is it genuinely bad code, or code written under limitations? Plenty of great developers and engineers code things poorly

Thank you for the reply, this helps! > Is it genuinely bad code, or code written under limitations? Plenty of great developers and engineers code things poorly when either under a time crunch/stretched for time, with a limited budget, with dozens of other things on their plate, based on manager suggestions, when tired/burnout, etc. Maybe it's just the best that was practical within the current situation or based on what you knew at the time. No need to beat yourself up about that, everyone ends up in those situations. Definitely written under a lot of limitations. It was a large feature with a difficult time crunch, and very limited dev resources. I did make some poor decisions early on, too, but I do feel that I did the best I could. I think the major part of my current anxiety is really the "feeling stupid and incompetent around other developers on the team" thing. Especially the ones who will have to build on this thing in the future. So I can forgive myself for not being perfect, but I'm still sitting with a feeling of shame and incompetence. When I talk with other devs and they mention how we should have done things a different way and that the current pattern is bad, I get two major thoughts / feelings: * "They're totally right, and I really am fucking stupid" * "They don't understand the pressure I was under or the context in which those decisions were made, and it makes me a bit angry to have my work judged harshly without knowing what it was like to be put through this" > and more about how the customer/client/users feel about the work done. Do they appreciate your efforts? Are they happy with the work you've done? Thanks for the reminder, they are happy with it! That's something to be proud of. > You shouldn't be treating this as a reflection on yourself, especially not when it's likely a product of the circumstances and appreciated by those you work for/with. Thanks for this reminder as well. I know I shouldn't treat it as a reflection on myself, but it's hard to convince my brain not to. Something to get help with in therapy I guess.