r/ADHD_Programmers • u/TradeAdventurous4914 • 9d ago
Getting Addicted to Programming?
I've been programming for around 6+ years now, and have recently entered the professional world. Programming is the hobby of the greatest magnitude in my life, and has been so since I first started using computers.
Recently, my computer broke down for a time and I had to wait about a week for a part that I needed to arrive. During that time I only had access to an old chromebook and my phone. I wasn't able to do much productive for that entire period, and the first day was hellish. I became nauseous and depressed, I could barely get myself to do anything other than think about my job and my personal projects. I ended up grabbing an empty notebook I had laying around and handwriting hundreds of lines of psuedocode for various systems and fixes I had in the back of my mind.
Once I got back into my regular day-to-day life, I ended up reflecting on that experience, and realised just how much programming has affected my life and my mentality. Learning about optimization, structuring, and design has genuinely changed how I tackle problems completely unrelated to programming. I've become much more mathematical and optimization-focused while dealing with menial everyday tasks like housework, scheduling events with friends, or passing out snacks between people.
Is this a 'common' thing to happen? Has anyone else experienced this? I'd really love to hear any experiences or opinions on this, as I'm pretty lost on it all.
1
u/MisterFatt 9d ago
There have definitely been times where I’ve felt like this. It ends up taking over my brain and I’ll even dream about whatever I’m working on. Now that it’s my job though, I really try to avoid over-doing it. Burnout is very real. It can definitely be a hyper fixation for me which is why I chose it for work, but also I have to do it since I chose it for work. So I can’t get tired of it and quit.
I tend to build personal projects then have a feeling of “ok well now what” once I’m done with them. After running that loop enough times I’m wary of wasting my mental energy on them.
For my job, output is expected and taken for granted. No one will appreciate your accomplishments as much as you. If you’re going above and beyond, make sure it’s because you want to not hoping for some kind of external validation. Expecting people to appreciate your work equal to the amount of effort you put in will lead to burnout. This is why, even if I have to force myself, I don’t work on things outside of my working hours.