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On March 16 2011 04:05 Uranium wrote:
Depression will make you unhappy, but it won't make you tired.
Are you serious? Depression can lead to a WHOLE lot of physical symptoms, can create ulcers and whatnot. Being constantly tired due to being lethargic (having no "drive") is by no means something unexpected.
What I find interesting is that many (and the OP himself) solely focus on the work. You mentioned that your personal life pretty much sucks - couldn't it be that this at the very least contributes to your current condition?
I my opinion you have to find "something" in your life to strive for. Be it work-related OR be it personal-life-related. The human being, in my experience, can't "function" if we are simply existing...that's exactly where all this "what's the purpose of life" comes from. We ultimately will go insane if there's nothing there to live for, to work for, to get up for in the morning.
My personal life isn't super-exciting either, but currently I'm working (teaching/researching) at the university and it's quite fun. I don't know what I would do outside such an environment with intelligent people who also provide some sort of a challenge for me, to always keep up.
My core point is: from what you've written you currently don't have a core, underlying "goal" neither in your work-life nor in your personal-life. The fact that you are better than your colleagues is a very BAD thing because it means you've already achieved pretty much the optimum what there is - being the most efficient employee. It sounds as if not the "quantity" of work is the problem but the "quality". You seem to have enough stuff to worry about, but not "challenging" stuff...stuff you can do kinda routinely without having to really focus, concentrate on solving a problem. Like executing a 4 gate over and over and winning with it over and over....not having to think about what you are doing as much as would be best to improve your "game" (here: your working experience). As others have suggested, you should/could try to talk to superiors about your tasks not being as challenging...nevertheless I realize this is helluva difficult. Also it would be good to know if there's any chance of promotion for you. Because this could also lead to more motivation, actively trying to get promoted (therefore: challenge) as early as possible.
The other option would be to work on your personal life. As we all know, many people are stuck within shitty jobs...and STILL are happy because of a very cool personal life. For those people their work only serves the purpose of getting enough money to live their life outside of work. That's ok too, because - while having no intrinsic value - work offers extrinsic value that also keeps them going. Knowing that you have a beautiful girlfriend that would love to go on holiday with you, and also knowing that you need to work hard to be able to afford the kind of holiday you would both like....this is also something that offers motivation.
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I'm just coming from the doctor with the results of a blood test, after i was too weak to work last week. Except for a little too high cholesterine values due to not very healthy food, every value is perfectly normal. It's not the thyroids or anything physical, so it seems like it's really just psychological. Sleepingdog probably is very close to it, but well... seems like i really have to go to a therapy 
I fail at life :/
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I have similar problems and some good advice I have had is
1) Keep a list of things you want to do and then work through them. Put down anything that is on your mind on the list. This is very useful because it means that when you are not at work you don't have to worry about things you have to do at work, and you also get a lot done.
2) Keep your work at work. Have clear boundaries between your home life and work.
3) Realise that for most people work is just a way to get money to live, and that is absolutely fine and normal. Do something you enjoy in your free time, and make sure it is something social.
As fun as computer games are, they don't help people who are depressives. I find that if I'm spending too much time on the internet/gaming that I feel terrible. You shouldn't play more than a couple of hours a day, and if I was you I'd stop surfing the internet so much as well.
Everybody needs real social contact, and from what I have read, that is what is most missing from your life at the moment.
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2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
I've burnt out before. Granted, it was a bit more complicated than just burning out.
Like a lot of things, I think recovering from burn out varies from person to person. Are you getting as much sleep as you feel you need? When I burnt out I was getting on average two hours of sleep a day, and these days if I don't get at least 7-8 hours of sleep I'm just a zombie for the rest of the day. The amount of sleep a person needs varies, so make sure you're getting as much sleep as you think you require.
How do you feel about your life as it currently is? Are you satisfied with the direction it's heading? When I burnt out my future felt dark and although I tried not to worry about it, it ate me up inside.
What helped rejuvenate me, aside from my break, were friends I could rely on for a change of pace. Going outside and letting the world embrace you may help energize you. Changing your daily mundane routine to something that you can be more excited about is a good step forward.
Also, if there's something that you feel you need to do, do it. Don't let anything linger on too long without resolution. That just creates unwanted stress, no matter how little. Need to do the laundry? Do it. Need to go to the dentist? Pick up your phone and make an appointment. Unsatisfied with how you look and feel you need to get in shape? Go to the store and buy some weights, go outside and do some jogging, or buy a workout video like P90x or Insanity and get cracking. What really helps me is having a friend that can motivate me, because when it comes to working out, I don't have the discipline to commit to a set routine.
I think this is one of the hardest things, but it'll make you feel a lot better when you accomplish your tasks. If you have a goal, work towards accomplishing it immediately. Again, this may be incredibly difficult. I know for me it was (and still is at times).
This seems cliche, but do you have any unresolved conflicts that are bothering you at present? If you're filled with regret or depression it can eat you up inside and slowly drain your energy. You'll have to either resolve your issues or accept them for what they are. For me, I did the latter, and accepted everything as a life experience and moved on. Sometimes I still think back on the issues, but I always come back to the same conclusion and don't let it bother me.
Since your problem is allegedly psychological, I think those issues listed above will need some major pondering on your behalf. Overall you want to lead a happy life and strive for an even better future. Who doesn't want to be happy, right? 
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The problem with all that social stuff is, that i'm someone who moved a lot, never stayed long enough in one place to make friends. I'm not the guy who goes somewhere alone and makes friends and i don't know anyone to do stuff with.
I feel like i'm really in a lose-lose situation. I don't even have any power to do anything after work, i sit down and feel tired and dead. There are a thousand things i should do, i try, but it's impossible, after work i'm tired, on the weekends i'm tired plus get a horrible headache...
Well, maybe the future will bring me some luck for a change.
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On March 16 2011 00:58 zatic wrote:Disclaimer: I am not an expert (other than being a professional myself), but I have experienced a similar situation am pretty sure here is your problem: Show nested quote +On March 15 2011 23:37 Morfildur wrote:
- I work as programmer and i'm actually quite good at my job, since eventhough i spend half the workday these days browsing TL i'm still more productive than my coworkers, according to my superiors. This is not a case of "burn out" (throw these books away, they are garbage), but rather something I heard being referred to as "bore out". I had a similar issue when my own job got really slow during the financial crisis and if anything I had less to do than ever. I felt like shit and experienced pretty much all the symptoms of burn out, and that while actually having less stress and overload than ever. Exact same issues of self doubt you describe (How am I weaker than everyone else?) too. I was lucky enough to have a very good manager who recognized this and basically send me home for some time. When more projects came in and I got really involved in work again it all went away like nothing, and following that I had the best time in my professional life yet. If you can, ask for more responsibility and/or different projects and tasks. Tell your manager you don't feel you are being used to your full potential. I don't know how your work is structured so I can't give you any more specific advice, but basically you should get to a point where you can't possibly read TL for half your day and still do your work. Something is seriously wrong when you get through with that, and if anyone it's you who suffers from it.
I agree with this.
Also if you're really good at programming and need a break from your job, maybe you should try freelancing. You don't even have to quit your job, just pick up some extra projects, if you're feeling bored.
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EPT
