I recently attended Code Camp Atlanta 2019. If you didn’t attend, then set a reminder to attend next year. Why? Because learning is essential, and $10 is almost free for a day of training…
There were 30+ sessions. All speakers and organizers volunteered their time on a Saturday in service of the tech community. Topics covered included Flutter, Kubernetes, GraphQL, Refactor, Machine Learning, and more. GraphQL caught my eye and it was worth the session, but that isn’t the purpose of this post.
Among the dozens of tech focused topics, Porcha Johnson hosted a session titled “Unpack the stigma: Mental Health within the Tech Industry“. Her session was timely and something more people should have attended. In short, we should value our mental health more, but we often sacrifice it… Why?
- Because performance reviews are around the corner?
- Because project deadlines are looming?
- Because of service level agreement?
- Because of scope creep?
- Because of crunch?
Note: It is never a good sign to feel sick going to work, but healthy leaving.
Confession:
Early in my career, I over-stressed myself with the desire to be the subject matter expert (SME). My taboo words were, “I don’t know”. When you’re the SME, it is your job to know. There is no not knowing… Rather than speaking up and asking for help, I instead pulled long hours to actually learn what I pretended to already know. The knowledge gap was massive and every day I worried that someone would call my bluff. Finally I became an actual SME and learned a lot, but the damage was done. There remained a lingering fear that someone would call me out for being an impostor… Impostor syndrome is something that significant percentage of professionals suffer from and this can definitely affect your mental well-being.
Say, “I don’t know” when you don’t know. Understand that no one knows it all. Learn to pace yourself. Ask for help when you need it. Help others when they need it!
Person p = new Person();
p.Rest().Relax().Renew();Conclusion: Speak up if you’re stressed. Rest if you’re fatigued. Take care of your mental well-being. Help to foster a “safe environment to have an open dialogue around mental health”.
“Calm yourself…”
– Christian Nwokeyi Jr.
console.log('Charles'); 