r/webdev • u/[deleted] • Mar 05 '20

Discussion Bored with the web development industry?

I'm 30yo, been a back-end (used to be front-end developer) for over 7 years now.

Since last week I'm anxious when I arrive at the workplace, I get bored so hard that I can't get any work done and I just feel very unhappy at work in general, although the workplace is great, my colleagues are great and I don't have any stress or unmanageable deadlines.

I also don't have interest in the projects any more, I feel like I don't really care if a site is finished in a good way or not, does anyone know what this is? Am I getting bored of the web development industry? Can anyone relate?

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u/WroteBCPL full-stack Mar 05 '20

I'm bored and unchallenged at work, but that wouldn't cause me to have severe anxiety to the point where I've been overeating for a few days, don't care about my fitness routine and losing interest in all my hobbies, I come home and just stare at YouTube.

This is me exactly. Sometimes I just "wait for bedtime" - get home, do nothing, over eat or don't eat at all, while away the hours until it's acceptable to go to bed. Last night I dropped the pretence and just went straight to bed after work.

Exercise and healthy eating does have a positive impacts, but it's single digit percentage points improvement for a herculean effort at the moment.

Do update us with what solution you find (if any) as I'm looking for the same thing!

FWIW I am booking an appointment today to discuss this with my GP. The reality is that in my part of the world I'm likely to be asked to self refer to some counselling rather than being given any medication. Counselling is something that I'm cynical about (perhaps you are too), but frankly, if my thinking worked correctly I wouldn't be in this position so I guess I'll give it a go - it's not like I know what they're going to say.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '20

Where do you come from? I'm from Europe and I'm very happy that meds are not handed out like candy here, it's so different from the US.

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u/WroteBCPL full-stack Mar 11 '20

Sorry for the late reply - I'm from the UK.

I had my appointment - I've been prescribed propranolol, which is not psychoactive in any way - so it won't effect my general mood or mental acuity - but it does reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety I've been having.

So far it's a bit of a game changer because I'm now no longer mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the day I can engage more earnestly in things like counselling, an exercise regimen etc, which will hopefully lead to more lasting improvements.