1) When someone comments on your pull request about how you could make your code more efficient - don't get upset - be happy to learn and get better at coding. And get back at your code and refactor it.
2) If someone is mean to you. Like really _mean_ to you, tell them. (Or tell team lead etc...)
Some examples are:
- UX guy jumping up on you grabbing your keyboard while in the middle of complicated rebase = not ok!
- other developers not talking to you/ not helping you because they feel superior = not ok!
- random people coming up to your desk demanding you take immediate action because they experienced 'some bug' = not ok!
- people sending you cryptic emails "everything looks fucked up" = ... relax, tell them to send screenshots
3) Take breaks!
I actually think this is one of the hardest points and I still cannot get myself up sometimes for breaks - but yeah - fucking take breaks! You don't need to go out with the smokers every 40 mins, but try to break for lunch and mayyybeee socialize (if your co-workers are actually sociable)
4) I can't believe I'm actually posting this but - if you happen to be a straight male and there's a female on the team... ugh... don't stare at her boobs or at her in general - talk to her about code - yes there are female coders out there and fyi they are just like you so don't be too creepy and listen to what they have to say about your code. -__-
I'm really horrible at this. As neat as I keep my git repos, I'm a chaotic keeping my disk organized.
My desktop started to regularly get crowded with files since I had a computer with an OS that made that possible.
Still move everything to "Stuff" whenever it gets too crowded and I don't want to make the decision yet whether I should delete this particular file or not.
At least I have a "Code", "Git" and "Stuff" folder now.
Have to admit that this sounds a lot like myself.
I actually dropped out of uni 4 times or so, because I just couldn't deal with having to sit in class focus or hand in homework in time. I was still interested in the subject and _wanted_ to learn, but this wasn't the way for me.
I could go on about my work experience - which was also similar to yours despite I let myself go - but when I start raging it's hard to stop and afterwards I often feel worse than before. ;)
I learnt that I get mostly motivated by projects I come up myself, so I try stick to my own stuff for a while to level up my skills. (I _need_ an outlet for all my creativity...)
And try to connect with people who are also building interesting things (and aren't assholes) and from whom you can learn new things. DIY scene is pretty nice place to be in really.
I try not to focus so much on work and career for now, because to be honest - working at that last office left me a bit with a trauma and I came to realize that I only have one life and I don't want to have to waste it with doing something I hate or that makes me feel like s*. So no more offices for me at the moment.
About the meds and therapy - it is a slow process, yes. And I actually had to try seven or so different kinds of meds until I found the right one that helped. It still makes me feel a bit weird and dull (sometimes annoying), but so much better than before...
I'm also 28, unemployed, in debt.
But meh, still could be worse.
Go to a doctor and let them describe you something for depression. Worked for me.
Be open about your problems and don't be ashamed.
Most people feel the way you do.
I never lie to people about my mental issues - not even at work. Guess what? 95% of the people I worked with (all other programmers) were on some kind of meds, too - for depression, social anxiety, ADHD etc.. Feels so much better just being open about it and crack a joke here and there. "Let's just all put down work, go to the beach and cry!" "I'm in. I'll bring beer." "Oh, I wish I could!" [I remember that conversation happening on Slack once]
I don't know! Sitting home alone, pitying yourself and being upset about society never really changes anything. ;)
I have a dog, too and have to admit I sometimes use her as an "emotions detector" - much like a guide dog, because I'm actually not that good at recognizing people's emotions/moods. The angles at which she puts her ears and head are pretty reliable and easy to read indicators. :)
When she sees someone's upset or sad she'll walk over to them and cheer them up. Even random people in the street or on the subway. I mostly fail to even notice...
Mh, I'd rather much prefer a system like Flattr (https://flattr.com/). I used to read Wired a lot, but I somehow had the feeling that there has been a significant decline in the quality of the articles (used to have a subscription), so these days I can't be bothered much.
That's why I'd love something like a "pay per like" system, which let's me support the quality content I enjoy and boost the people behind it.
But I guess it wouldn't really work out as most people are cheap and lazy - you'd need to sign up for a new service etc..
:/
omg I know I'll be down voted for this but... ugh, this guy hasn't gotten anything and it's so super sad. I've a similar background like him, but I kinda felt embarassed reading his post. Mannnnn... you can argue all day long what programming is about and go crey crey on forums and write stupid blog posts... but WHY the hell waste time with that if you could build something awesome in the meantime with all the things that you know and all the tools that you got - like argh come back when you build something awesome I dunno... :/
Somehow I have the feeling that psychedelics are still kind of glorified - mostly by creative people - and I can tell you all people are different. People's brains are all wired differently. Because they all went through different things in their lives. While it might help some, others might actually be left traumatized and with horrible flashbacks! Hacking your brain isn't easy!
It happened to me as a teenager. I had troubles concentrating, chalk boards would melt around teachers, trains coming in as snakes hissing, swallowing and spitting out people... at some point it stopped, but it surely wasn't always that enjoyable being "stuck" on a trip and feeling like moving through a dimension between dream and reality constantly. I mostly didn't care back then and thought it was kind of entertaining.
But I know now that I have some mental issues and LSD actually amplified the symptoms. So if you find yourself on the autistic scale and you're feeling depressed - probably better keep away from LSD... Your head is already so busy - try to do something more productive instead. ;)
Have to admit it was super interesting, but it left me with more bad effects than good in the end!