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Discussion on: Depression & Anxiety in programming

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Amelia Gapin

I suffer from a lot of depression and anxiety and have ADHD. It can be a lot sometimes.

For me, running helps it a lot. I've been a distance runner for years and that can really ease the symptoms and make me feel better, but it's just a bandaid for the symptoms, it's not a cure. It'll get me through the day, but it leaves me in a fragile balance of relying on this one physical activity.

At the end of last year, I started taking Lexapro and that has helped me immensely. It doesn't fix it 100%, but my levels of background anxiety and depression are greatly reduced and I have fewer panic attacks. It's also helped reduce my suicidal thinking.

I have gone to therapy in the past and it just doesn't seem to be the treatment for me. Once I can open up to a therapist, I can let a lot of stuff out and it feels nice and cathartic. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long after each session and then I have a whole week to go until the next one.

I think it just comes down trying different things and seeing what works for you. It may need to be a combination of a few things.

This can be a tough industry because our productivity can often affect our mental health. If I'm not particularly productive, whether that's because of my ADD or something else, that will increase my anxiety and depression. It'll make me feel worthless. That anxiety over being unproductive and the depression centered around worthlessness then makes me even less productive and it becomes this really dangerous negative feedback loop.

Anyway, it's definitely something we need to talk about more. We need to remove the stigma from it.

You're not alone. ❤️