[notacop31337]

I recently read "Lost Connections", recommended to me after a long few years with depression.

I suspect if you're commenting in this thread, you'd probably enjoy it.

Anyway, the one thing that seems to always be a consistent theme in discussions of burnout, is work. I've not yet seem a conversation on burnout where an employment scenario is not brought up.

One of the chapters in Lost Connections talks about meaningful work, and how a reduction or elimination of personally fulfilling work, can lead to a depression, as can a few other things.

I can't help but feel at this stage after dealing with a long running depression, that our relationships with work are probably broken, and we've all been sold a lie.

My issue with the term "burnout" is that it feels like it's loading the topic to be a personal issue (which it technically is), when in reality, it's a reaction to a bad external stimuli.

I'd write more, but I feel like I'm waffling, I'm happy to discuss more if people want to chat about it.

[waboremo]

We have all been sold a lie. The major regrets people give when they are near death, are all linked to work. They wish they had been a better more active parent, they wish they had spent more time with family and friends. Where do these people spend most of their time? Work. Where do they regret spending most of their time? Work.

It's funny, you suggest the idea that "work" is a farce and people act as if you're recommending they stay still until they die. We cannot even fathom a life without "work" as it currently exists. To remind readers, when faced with imminent death, the biggest regret is work. Yet we prevent access to integral institutions based on whether someone is employed, we judge others based on where they are employed, the entire education system is based on funnelling people to work more, and we view homeless people as subhumans who just need to find a job.

Until we reevaluate the entire modern idea of "work", the discussion of "burnout" will continue being fruitless. There will only be yet another temporary solution to sell you on, another form of therapy to attempt and then feel guilt over, another career change you don't want to drag your family through.

[mancerayder]

>Until we reevaluate the entire modern idea of "work", the discussion of "burnout" will continue being fruitless. There will only be yet another temporary solution to sell you on, another form of therapy to attempt and then feel guilt over, another career change you don't want to drag your family through.

But think of the productivity hacks that are possible! We're just not telling ourselves the right thing. Cognitive worksheets. The Secret. Microdosing. We'll get it eventually! Musk and Jobs got it. We just have to hack it.

[grecy]

My dad is 71 and we just did an awesome remote wilderness adventure together.

He just said if he could have his life over again he would work less and do more fun stuff. I take that to heart.

[tgv]

> They wish they had been a better more active parent, they wish they had spent more time with family and friends. Where do these people spend most of their time? Work. Where do they regret spending most of their time? Work.

I don't think you have much evidence for that, do you? A 40 hour work week does take up time, but still leaves enough time for other activities. Most people don't die during their working life either.

Sure, working more isn't healthy, but work is unavoidable the way society is organized. Until you're willing to give up running water and supermarkets, you're going to have to work. There's not going to be a reevaluation of the modern idea of work. All you can do is limit the excesses.

So, unionize.

[capitalsigma]

Do you think subsistence farmers had better work life balance?

[pindab0ter]

You mention lack of meaningful work to be a cause of burnout.

Now this may be a difference between US and European definitions of ‘burnout’, but this doesn’t hold true for me.

I’m dealing with (the aftermath of) a burnout since 2016 after what at the time felt like the best half year of my life.

I did everything. A 40hr/week internship that was very fulfilling to me, social engagements on almost every week night, activities every weekend, and a romantic relationship I was trying—but failed—to make work.

It all felt great until I just couldn’t even pay attention to mental junk food anymore.

Now of course this is an anecdote. But I have been told burnout is first and foremost a deregulation of the stress (i.e. adrenaline/cortisol) system). This suits much better with my experience, since I love my work, but can’t do it 40hr/w anymore.

[h4waii]

This definitely reads similar to how my body reacted, as if it was under some sort of constant invisible stress.

Constantly hot and sweating, stomach muscles tight, and the feeling of an ever-present fear of something / anything happening.

Once I was able to attribute it to work, and address some of it, things started regulating themselves, but it took a long time; and still isn't complete.

[dredmorbius]

Lost Connections by Johann Hari (2018), FWIW:

<https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/17/lost-connectio...>

(I've not read it myself.)

[mrwnmonm]

Search more on the author of this book. Some really bad things have been written about him.

[Sophistifunk]

Things don't become less true simply because you heard them from a douchebag.

[notacop31337]

Cheers for the comment, what do you suggest I do with this information?

[kergonath]

Textbook ad hominem attack. This does not say anything about the point he made or the texts he wrote.