You have to remember the first rule of software development... If it is not ready for release, release it and call it the "beta" version. After you take your time and get most kinks resolved, you call that release the final, or "gold" version. After that, as you work on more bugs, you release new versions, or "patches".
LMFAO HAHAHHAHAHAHAH yes, or go work construction in the hot sun at an oil and gas plants for 12 hours a day, for 6 days a week. The OP will run back to his computer and happily and enjoy writing codes listening to music.
If you are wondering if you have a burnout, you are probably already there. Getting overwhelmed by your work or just not getting it anymore while it should be simple for you, is a clear sign. The only thing you can do is talk to a professional. Burnout and depression go hand in hand. If your brain is not making enough one of three basic stuff you need to function, you need medication. Again talk to a professional. Being smart is not an antidote against a burnout. It is quite the opposite... The higher the iq, the more they think they will figure it out, the deeper they get stuck and the longer it takes to get healthy again.
And floss, and brush your teeth every morning, and at night. These simple activities act as a reminder that you are still alive, and aware. These are very good points, and like you stated: very effective therapy. The ice cream comes every 2 weeks on Friday...
Burnout is essentially when you put too much energy and focus into a single activity over a prolonged period of time. So to combat burnout, the solution is simply allowing yourself to experience the opposite, which is contrast. Contrast can be defined as doing something that's the opposite of the task or lifestyle that's been leading you down the burnout road. So if you're burned out from programming, examples of contrast would be: 1. Physical exercise. This could be running, biking, lifting weights, boxing, MMA, etc. 2. Art. Examples include painting, sculpting, woodworking, and making music. 3. Cooking. Buy a book on a certain cuisine of cooking and learn to make the recipes in it. 4. Traveling. Go somewhere for the weekend that you've never been before so you can be exposed to new sights and experiences. If you can learn to regularly inject some contrast into your life, you'll find that not only will your burnout start to fade, but solutions to problems will come to you more easily and with less effort than before. And more importantly, life will feel more enjoyable and will become less of a grind on your mental state. I personally use activities from all of the four categories above to keep myself from going absolutely crazy and I highly recommend you do the same.
Some people will experience that the same psychological characteristics will interfere with these "contrasting" activities and will getting not much relief from them... If a burn-out is severe, the whole (filtering) system is broken and will never fully mend.
Take time off or reduce your workload. No other substitute, IMO. You want to maximize your output - not your input. Earlier this year I stopped logging data, journaling and doing research on weekends and simply focused on trading Monday / Friday. That way I was still in the game while recovering from a pending burnout. PS: I was severly burned out many years back to the point where I could no longer will myself to do what I was previously doing. Not trading related. Spent a good year just to recover from that, so definitely not a situation you want to end up in.
One psychiatrist spoke of this artist, who takes pics of his shoes (by looking vertically down) in order to capture the place that he is standing at. Then makes a painting out of it. Does that everywhere around the world, to stay aware of the present moment. So the psychiatrist bought his painting about a moment from the bath room. Every time he leaves the shower, he sees the feet of that guy & himself. (No fetish, straight guy, has family) Some got trading screens there.
Very well said, mental health issues are very very common, particularly for those working in the financial markets. I can say this from a personal point of view as I used to work in this field when I was younger and I was impressed that they even offered therapy and anxiety relief sessions. My first thought was, I am not going to need these I am still in my twenties and happy in my job. But as time went by I felt tired and stressed out. I could not handle it anymore. I now realise the importance of realising how stressful this field can be on your health.