Why I’m writing Mental Fitness for Hackers
PREORDER THE BOOK MENTAL FITNESS FOR HACKERS NOW
I’ve been writing on technology for the past decade but found myself wanting to write this book a few years ago when I, despite having the family, career and life I wanted I was permanently stressed, work obsessed but decreasingly unable to actually do anything.
I remember sitting at my computer shaking with stress trying to send an email to a colleague. I would invent what I thought people were thinking and closed down the areas I was comfortable talking about.
I became often distant from my family, feeling inferior and as though I wasn’t good enough. I had always had a hard time processing the idea that people “loved me for me” but at this time, the concept of “me” was basically my work and I was so stressed that I wasn’t able to do that so how could they possible love that?
I was physically shaking when on skype/slack to certain people. Unable to read words or understand what people meant. I couldn’t talk honestly to people and had entirely forgotten why I was doing the job I was doing.
I eventually sought help. I found online CBT resources, listened to podcasts and went to professional counselling. I knew I had to do this but constantly felt pathetic that I did. Why should I, with my perfectly reasonable life, be wasting time on this soft nonsense?
A few months into this I started improving. Some sessions with the counselor or while reading I would be hit by revelations which changed how I perceived myself and the entire world, and that enabled me to do things differently.
At this point I realised that mental health is not just about moving from feeling low to feeling ok. The same techniques can be used to shift your mental state to where you want it to be. I began enthusiastically collecting information, methods, “hacks” and ideas which would help me manage my mind properly.
Over the past 2 years I have used these techniques to transform my mental, physical and professional life. The anxiety doesn’t disappear and nor does the stress and I am still prone to overworking and crashing, but I know how to deal with it much better.
More and more I wished that I’d had these techniques back when I was at University but I knew that any mention of mental health, wellness or any such “hippie” nonsense would have been promptly dismissed as pathetic and weak. And so, all this material needs to be repackaged to be attractive to people who want to do well professionally but probably aren’t going to walk into the mindfulness section.
This is the book that I wish I’d had 20 years ago.
