
Ask HN: How do I write code as quickly as I used to? - milankragujevic
Hi HN!<p>I&#x27;ve been a &quot;programmer&quot; since I was 10 years old, basically by copy&amp;pasting other people&#x27;s code and making it do what I want...<p>I was published in the national Serbian newspapers and was bullied heavily for being a &quot;liar&quot;, a &quot;fraud&quot;, a &quot;thief&quot;, etc., and received death threats.<p>Since then my anxiety levels have been rising and my code quality has been dropping (well, relatively speaking, compared to what I did back then it&#x27;s much improved but not as much as it could&#x27;ve) and my code output has been dropping as well.<p>I&#x27;m 17 now, soon to turn 18, but I can barely work 2 hours a day on something, when before I could and would sit at the computer for 24 hours and finish a project in one siting, without sleep or eating.<p>Nowdays I just waste my time reading blogs and not learning anything and I&#x27;ve become really depressed.<p>Occasionally, I get a huge rush of motivation and I finish a project and earn some money for example for a MacBook Air which I&#x27;ve always wanted and now have, but I then regress back into the depressed state.<p>I have also become very asocial and don&#x27;t leave my house frequently, and find it difficult to go to school where I&#x27;m bullied and judged for things that I wish not share, and I only go to school to do exams and then I go back home and barely study, my grades are terrible and...<p>Help me HN.<p>Please note, I am going to a therapist but he&#x27;s not helping and is quite useless and expensive. He&#x27;s in the capital city of Serbia and I live quite far away so it&#x27;s expensive to travel.
======
drKarl
Well, those alternate states of depression and euphoria sound like bipolar
disorder, so it's probably a good idea to continue with the therapist.

Copy pasting code is a start, as long as you understand the code, but it's
good that you moved past that. You're still young, so if you want to be a
programmer you're in a good position to improve. You can read some books,
learn best practices, design patterns, depending on your programming language
of choice studying for a certification will give a solid foundation and
confidence. Then you can build something with everything you've learned.

~~~
milankragujevic
Hi! Thanks for your comment. Yes I am staying with the therapist. I meant I
used to c&p code when I was 10, nowadays I do it all myself and avoid using
existing code for fear of being called a fraud.

------
coralreef
Sometimes you need time way from the computer, and to dive your mind into
other things. Consider taking up sports / martial arts, it will give you a
chance to build other skills and socialize in a different setting.

