Maintaining Mental Health as a Programmer
Self-care isn’t selfish!
Usually, I wrote about all things about software development in my articles, but not for this one because of the report I just read in Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2021. The survey found that among 16,529 respondents who answer the survey, almost 10% of software developer suffers from anxiety disorder with or without addition to other kinds of mental health issues.
I found it surprising since these data are also backed down by a paper released in the International Journal of Humanities Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) titled Anxiety and Mental Health of Software Professionals and Mechanical Professionals concludes that software developer tends to have a higher risk of developing anxiety disorder than a mechanical engineer.
While most companies nowadays are aware of the importance of mental health and taking required preventive measures to make sure that their employees stay healthy, that does not mean that we as an individual can just go work endlessly and tirelessly. That will make the preventive measures placed by your employer go wasted.
So as a programmer myself, I want to share the reasons why programmers or software developers are having higher anxiety levels than in other engineering fields based on my experiences and a few pieces of advice to manage it. Do note that this article is not a replacement for professional mental health advice nor fits with all programmers out there.
Cause #1: Tendency of feeling not good enough
As a programmer, especially in your early programming day, there is always that one time that you doubt your skills and knowledge and think that you aren’t up for the job or you will be left behind. Or when you as a junior developer, feel that your senior is a God and you will not be able to reach his/her level of knowledge. And when this happens, it subsequently affects mental health and increases anxiety levels. This phenomenon is called imposter syndrome.
Cause #2: Burnout Condition
When we start our journey in software development, we must be filled with joy and a kind of desire to learn or work more and more. However, after a long time doing the task, again and again, there will be a situation when programmers lose interest and passion for programming in general. Then we feel tired and try to avoid programming. This is called burnout condition. While burnout is not classified as a medical condition, it can lead to serious mental issues if not recognized and treated properly. Burnout can be caused by overworking, monotonous jobs, no work recognition, etc.
Cause #3: Personal Issue
Every single person alive on the earth must be having some personal issues one way or another, whether it is family issues, relationship issues, financial issues, physical health issues, or others. This can lead to added stress on top of existing stress when you are doing your job as a programmer. And as for me personally, this added stress always leads to more worries that my personal issue will affect my professional issues.
So, after finding out the causes, there are few tips to mitigate these conditions and improve your mental health in general:
Pause and Give Yourself a Pat on the back
Do you remember that one time that you wrote your first hello world program? And look where you are now, writing code in software(s) that people use for their daily life. You did well. And don’t worry, you will keep improving, one way or another, inside or outside the programming field in the future. So give yourself a pat on the back for that!
Try to Solve your Personal Issues
As a programmer who is working in professional fields, mitigating personal issues is important. So if your employer facilitates you to have a break to solve your personal issues, do it. Don’t hold back personal issues if you can find a way since it will only burden you more and more. If you have personal issues that cannot be resolved, try to separate both personal and professional issues then. Since mixing both of them will cause more harm than good for you.
Talk and Socialize with Others
Most programmers are usually not the kind of people who like to talk in front of people (me included), however, not talking or socializing at all is not a good thing too. Don’t code every day every hour every week. Socialize! You may find a new thing to discover after socializing with others, and you can also de-stress too!
And if you have more time, try volunteering or helping others in general. Because doing something positive other than code and sitting behind the screen will help rewire your brain to think more positively
A bit of exercise won’t hurt
I’ll be honest with you, working on multiple projects and having full-time jobs makes me go out of shape. Especially after this pandemic which pretty much forces us to work from home. And this may be also happening to you. From now on, try to do some push-ups or a bit of running around the house in the morning, or in between of your coding sessions. Research shows that being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.
Do something outside of your computer
Sometimes as a programmer we lose track of how much time we spent on-screen. And this kind of long screen time may increase stress (I am a bit unsure why, but I personally have this issue). So to prevent this, try to do something outside of your computer and phone. Whether it is reading books, painting, crafting something, or learning new instruments.
Get a good night's sleep
Programmers rarely sleeps well. This is a common fact and is becoming a meme nowadays. However, this is not a good thing. Loss of sleep can cause some health issues, not just mental issues but also physical issues. And 7–9 hours of sleep can prevent all of that. I know that some of us will think that sleeping is waste of time, but an improper sleep schedule will also make your productivity level lower.
So, to sum up… Maintaining mental health as a programmer isn’t easy. Especially these days when things moving so fast. But I believe everyone needs to take a break sometimes to move forward more. Don’t forget to seek medical help if you think you need one and don’t go too hard on yourself. :)