
Ask HN: hacker ways of fighting anxiety? - maxawaytoolong
Last summer I developed a nasty anxiety disorder. I'm now trying to work on a startup project but I'm finding it very hard to concentrate. It's the typical GAD stuff: constantly worried about health, hard to sleep, fatigued, sometimes feel short of breath and minor chest tightness. Etc. The thing that sucks is I don't remember feeling like this until last summer, and I'd really like to feel normal so I can get some work done.<p>Was wondering if any other hacker / entrepreneurs have this problem and what you do to fix it.<p>My apologies if this is too off-topic, but the dedicated web forums for this are a bit sensational and a "hacker" approach seems like it would suit me the best (ala the "Hacker's Diet").
======
jgalvez
Exercise helps you feel always refreshed and improves your sleeping
considerably. I have finally managed to fit jogging as a daily activity and it
has helped me wonders.

But the key thing is marijuana. There's no better aid to concentration than
getting high. Of course you can't over do it, but getting the /right high/
will make you code like there's no tomorrow.

It completely relieves you of any pressure and stress and makes any problem
interesting to work on. It's the only thing that will make me stare 3 hours
non-stop at code without being affected by distractions and without getting
tired while also actually producing and being creative. I'm not ashamed of
admitting it and I'm most definitely sure I'm not alone being a stoner coder
:)

~~~
Todd
This may work for marathon coding sessions (be sure you're following TDD
practices), but it can be counterproductive for people dealing with GAD. It
can actually be a cause of GAD.

------
pg
Exercise is what always saves me, specifically running, soccer (before hurting
knee), and yoga (since hurting knee).

~~~
lionhearted
Seconded. Key for exercise: Find something that doesn't bore you to death. If
most kinds of exercise do, you're not alone. Me, I get immensely bored of any
generic cardio pretty quickly. I found the solution by chance: Bring a book
while doing exercise bike. I can only read at about 60-70% of normal speed,
and can only go 50-70% intensity, but I can do a couple hours of light/medium
cardio while reading a good book. Weighttraining, martial arts, fencing,
ultimate frisbee, golf, snowboarding, scubadiving, and occasionally pickup
games of whatever in the snow have appealed to me. That might sound like a lot
of activities, but I've tried dozens more and had them "not do it for me" and
was bored or didn't enjoy them.

Eventually I found what works for me: things where I can think about tactics
as I play or are played in really beautiful nature. Weight training also
surprised me in how much I liked it once I got into it. Things without tactics
or nature usually don't do it for me, but everyone's different and get into
different things. Some people like to turn their mind off during exercise,
some people like being really stimulated or distracted. Trial and error, plus
not being discouraged if you dislike the first x kinds of exercise you try is
the way.

~~~
pg
Another way to make exercise interesting is to do something interesting while
doing it. I ran into a friend recently who had lost a lot of weight. He said
it was simply from using an elliptical machine while he read email. This
seemed a very clever way to take advantage of the excessive amount of time one
ends up spending on email.

------
bbuffone
I had the exact same problem a while back. It was while working full time and
creating a startup on the side. The stress of every thing resulted in the same
symptoms. Every day I needed to resist the urge to go to the emergency room
because I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. This lasted for about
7 months and I didn't tell anyone until eventually I couldn't take it and one
night drove myself to the hospital. After a series of unpleasant tests, it was
just to much stress.

So what did I do to fix it?

1.) Realized the deadlines and pressure I was putting on myself were self
imposed and definitely didn't need to be that aggressive. One thing I have
learned, all time lines and deadlines are made up (know one really knows, its
just a best guess), unless there is a contract attached. Doesn't mean be lazy
and slack off.

2.) Better time management, context switching in life is aa expensive as it is
on a computer, Set aside time for each thing.

3.) Task lists, every day create a list of tasks you want to complete and
cross items off when done. The sense of accomplishment creates a good feeling.
Tomorrow create a new task list, don't add to the old one, this is a good way
to clear the list of all the shit that doesn't matter or has changed. You are
going to be behind schedule, the goals is to make progress and create
milestones that can be reached.

3.) Balance your life, being heads down can only last for so long. Enjoy
family, friends, people on the street, talk about what you are doing, get
ideas and feedback. Get a way for a weekend, see #1 shit can wait a weekend.

4.) As soon as possible find someone that can start to use the software and
give you feedback. It is amazing how one person giving feedback will help
energize you. They will think the progress you are making is far better than
you. This is because what you are doing will hopefully help them in some way.

5.) Started exercising, eating better and stopped drinking Coke. Caffeine
increases heart rate and only added to the problem, but I was drinking Coke to
cope with the sleeping issues. Exercise is always positive, don't need to run
a marathon just get out and walk around, enjoy the sun.

6.) Massages, I made my wife start giving me massages and that worked really
well. No wife, no worries, you can pay money for a professional.

~~~
maxawaytoolong
Wow, that is very similar to my story. Almost exactly, with the hospital visit
and everything! In my case, I had switched startups and the 2nd one was a big
mistake, with a sociopathic boss, unworkable deadlines, working until 5 am
every day for weeks, etc.

Thanks for the tips! I've already found that avoiding caffeine is very
helpful.

------
mcav
Treat your anxiety like you would any coding problem:

Consider your anxiety's symptoms as problems in an issue tracker. For every
thing that makes you anxious, stop and think: Is this a true, valid,
legitimate [health] concern? If so, address it. But if not -- if it's merely a
product of your worry -- then mark that issue as "resolved", "notabug", etc.

It's a logical approach: If there isn't anything medically wrong and you're
just anxious about it, then take a moment and tell yourself that it's just a
needless worry, and worrying about a bug doesn't fix it.

The more you can allow yourself to focus on other things (i.e. becoming
engrossed in a project), the easier it will be to put your anxiety aside.

[I am not a doctor, etc.]

------
scorpioxy
I had no idea that this was wide spread among hackers. Although, thinking
about it, it makes a lot of sense. Working in an abstract rational world and
in an almost always stressful environment tends to bring this stuff out. Also,
i found that people to tend to be "deep thinkers" always have these problems.
Wonder why....

Some great tips here. I had a similar problem, although mine was a clinical
depression induced by malaria medication i had to take while on a trip to
Africa. What i did was to rest for a while and then start coding whenever i
feel like it. In a couple of weeks, i found that i was coding for more than
10hrs a day. That was 3 years ago.

------
chris11
Exercise is great.

Sleep is great. I've figured out that if I don't get enough sleep, I usually
end up wasting more time than I would have got sleeping.

That said, you definitely need some time off from work. I'd suggest taking off
a full day (24 hr) a week from work. Do what ever you want, sleep, watch tv,
play a sport, just don't do work. Tell yourself to think about work later.
It's a good time to catch up on any lost sleep and de-stress.

------
amichail
Try not worrying about falling asleep at specific times -- such worry is
itself a source of anxiety.

When you are tired enough, you will sleep.

------
Allocator2008
I would absolutely see a therapist. You could try out a psychologist just to
"talk things out with" and he/she can recommend a psychiatrist if medication
is needed. It can help. I have ADD and occasionally have anxiety symptoms as
well, and I've been to a few therapists so I know that therapy can really
help.

------
GrandMasterBirt
There are a couple of things I do to get away from stress. Remember you need
to get away from stress, not problems. You need to solve problems, but get
them out of your mind until they are needed.

1) Pick up a fun sport. Sport gets the endorphins going, gets your body
working, makes you think better, feel more self-confident, etc. I take Karate
for fun (hell I've been white belt for 6mo since I didnt take test) but it
made me so much happier that I can't even compare myself now and 6 mo ago
(don't go to the stuff like Tiger Sholmans, they are all crap, go to the cheap
dojos, try a few out. Ask friends if they go.) Or play some soccer, football,
basketball, just make sure to push your body just hard enough to get a good
workout, definately past the "oh I'm out of breath I'm sitting this one out"
play till you can't move the feet. :) Just know your limits.

2) Go out with friends, even if you are married, go do something completely
useless with a friend.

3) Just sit down and clear your mind. Know that all the problems are always
there until you solve them (or until you get help) but treat yourself to 5-10
minutes of complete ignorance and tranquility. Do this as often as you need
it. If you need to do 30 min of work and 10 min of R&R do it! If your boss
complains then tell him calmly that if he has a better way to get some stress
relief you are all for it. As a human being he will understand anxiety.

4) Don't bottle it in. Talk to a spouse, a family member, a friend, a co-
worker, anyone. Sometimes just letting it out can make you feel so much
better. (had this happen recently, been dwelling on something for many many
hrs, could not sleep, a 2 minute conversation with a co-worker just letting my
feelings be known made me feel better, and in the end I just stressed over
nothing. But it helped. Was not directed at the co-worker.)

5) I noticed crap food also adds to stress. Eat better. I drink water and
juice (rarely), eat fruits vs candy, no fast-food like mcdonalds, burger king,
subeway, anything like that, eat some cooked vegetables (for flavor). I
noticed diet definitely helps. And it improves your health as a bonus.

6) STOP WORKING. You can't have your brain on full power 24/7. At some point
it just crashes and if you keep pushing you will get bad results. Its why I
can't drive for extended periods of time without rests, too much attention,
too much brain power used, eventually I just start shutting down. Same with
programming. I take breaks, read news, talk to co workers, get lots of work
done, go home, see family. Do anything to shut your brain down for a small
time. If you are working till 5am and you can quit (if you are good this
economy means you have a chance to find a job) then quit. No crap job is worth
your life.

~~~
GrandMasterBirt
I just realized. What you can do is write down a list of all the things you
can't do anything about at the moment. Every day change the list to see if
anything can be taken off.

Every time you stress out look at the list. If its there remind yourself that
there is nothing you can currently do, so let it be. Whatever happens will
happen, but since you can't change it don't kill yourself over it.

