Thread by @dnene

I was diagnosed with chronic burnout over 3 years ago. Took a full 18 months off. Now I feel like the pendulum has swung back. Have lots of sleep. Very normal fatigue levels. But it still gives me nightmares. The sheer helplessness of being there in that situation.

There's a lot i think I can advise help folks with in terms of sharing my experiences relating to burnout. But I wanted to make sure I've come a full 180 degrees from being there. Now, i think I have. Will be happy to share on a need basis

But the most important thing to note is that it is (or at least in my case was) an avoidable situation. Many articles talk about it being environmental, occupational etc. I am no shrink, but I think there is an element of personal responsibility.

By personal responsibility i mean you may feel tempted to blame 5 million other reasons. But it is important to note the situation is likely avoidable. And the key to that is how much you let your environment influence you.

You are the owner of your thresholds. Sometimes the demands might be too high. Sometimes your constitution isn't fit for the environment. Doesn't matter. Either way the individual is responsible for setting thresholds and being in charge of protecting them from being breached.

Take ownership. If you think u r stressed don't blame the environment if the stressors are controllable. Take charge and man the gates. Cut the amount of work. Cut the things that make feel burnt. Cut the emotional overwhelmedness. Your older self might thank you for it one day.

What does being in a chronic burnout feel like? I can only speak for myself but in hindsight in the 18 months before my diagnosis my brain had started slowing down. Fatigue had started rising. But most importantly emotional exhaustion had started setting in.

I could still code a lot. But in hindsight other parts of my life had started to be in slow motion. More and more things I did were starting to be on autopilot. I didn't realize then what an intense amount of capability our brain has to run ourselves on autopilot

The key thing was i could absorb my sensory inputs. But processing them had slowed down enormously. Instinct took over reason. I did not realize all that until my physical fatigue levels shot up.

What helped? Time off. Doing things I enjoyed. Cutting off things I didn't like doing. Biking. Reading.

The good news is, it is at least seemingly reversible. One can come back. Will end the thread on this positive note.