Depression and Anxiety

Why do we sometimes fall into black holes of depression, anxiety and self-doubt? And can we change the way we feel?

Dr. David Burns MD, Stanford University School of Medicine and a clinical psychiatrist, is the author of the best selling book ‘Feeling Good’. He says that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other black holes of depression can be cured without drugs. He talks about scientifically proven techniques that immediately lift our spirits and help us develop a positive outlook on life. His book has helped people who were on the verge of suicide. His book talks about the many options available for coming out of depression and look forward to living.

– Recognize what causes our mood swings
– Nip negative feelings in the bud
– Deal with guilt
– Handle hostility and criticism
– Overcome addiction to love and approval
– Build self-esteem, and
– Feel good everyday

Please watch the 17-minutes video. You will like the entertaining way he talks, And, like me if you liked what he says, get this book.

Disclaimer: I am not promoting this book. Hence, not posting a link. I bought this book from Amazon for a little less than $4.00.

 

Depression high in IT professionals

The Chennai edition of The Hindu has this article by R. Sujatha. I know her and she makes the best Ennai Kathrikai (stuffed brinjal/eggplant, fried vegetable dish) yummmm…

Anyway, I digress. As per her article, symptoms of depression are higher amongst System Administrators than any other job category in the industry. I wonder if Unix Admins (which I am) are more depressed than Windows administrators? Hmmmm food for thought…

I reproduce below from the article –

“The signs of depression are many: sadness, pessimism/discouragement, sense of failure, dissatisfaction, guilt, expectation of punishment, self-dislike, self-accusation, suicidal ideation, crying, irritability, social withdrawal, indecisiveness, body-image distortion, work retardation, insomnia, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, somatic preoccupation and loss of libido. “

“When a middle class girl from a small college gets a job in an IT company because she is proficient in English, and begins earning three times more than her father, even the mother begins to give her importance. The girl becomes assertive. There is only a thin line between assertiveness and aggressiveness.”

My take ? Well.. one needs to have interests in life and world other than just be focused on work. If your only friends are from work or other IT folks, then beware… you are heading for trouble. When not at work, get away from IT (pun intended)! Cultivate a hobby, go around instead of ‘trying’ to sleep in all your free time. If no idea comes up, go and sit at the beach and watch the waves.

When the dot com bubble burst in the US, many people who put in 16-18 hours of work per day and had no other life, did not know what to do. Many left California (a reverse gold rush so to say) and found work in less stressful and at times non-IT environment. Health Care industry is booming everywhere in the world and both male and female nursing attendants, lab technicians, care providers are in great demand.

The next fatal system error may not be at the server, but could be from within you! So wake up and smell the roses…

Thanks:  To R. Sujatha for her series of such articles on the IT industry.