I worked with a guy who was an incredibly talented developer, and it was his first 'proper' development job. He was smart and good at what he did, and made a go

I worked with a guy who was an incredibly talented developer, and it was his first 'proper' development job. He was smart and good at what he did, and made a good impression, however as time progressed and the reality of ever shifting goal posts and getting half the time you really need to do something took it's toll. Eventually he went to the doctor, who diagnosed a stress related condition and he was prescribed meds which helped for a while. But, it's that melting pot and eventually he snapped, smashed a keyboard and then threw a monitor onto the floor. I took the time to try and help and he realised whilst he loved dev work, he just couldn't deal with the stress of working inside a business and decided to give up. It's a hard industry, I'm personally surprised there's not a much higher rate of stress related illness and depression. We've all probably skirted the burnout zone on a regular basis, long term that's not going to be great for anyone. I'd say the increase in startups being lead by technically gifted people who've done development should help, but there still seems to be an acceptance of push and push until you break or the job is done.