Health Myths We Tell in Tech

The 10x programmer is a unicorn. We love to lionize the amount of dedication, time, and thought that goes into creating great software -- but we forget the very real cost it can entail, both emotionally and physically, on the programmer. Depression, RSI, burnout: these are all real issues facing our field.

I have many friends who have dealt with these, and I've dealt with RSI myself. I'd like to share my experience and all the mistakes I have made while dealing with them.

I do not come with quick fixes or a bullet list. Preventative measures only go so far. One does not simply walk into good health. It is a methodical process.

One can, though, be aware of what to think and worry about, and how to deal and go forward if one is dealing with health problems. I promise you knowledge, laughs, and the ability to help anyone going through these issues, be it a friend or yourself.

Transcript

1. HEALTH MYTHS WE TELL OURSELVES IN TECH
2. THERE ARE NO 10X PROGRAMMERS (EXCEPT @SUBSTACK)
3. THIS IS A MYTH THAT SILICON VALLEY / STARTUP CULTURE HAS CREATED TO MAKE YOU FEEL BAD FOR HAVING A LIFE!
4. DOUBLE FISTING RED BULLS AND POPPING ADDERALL TO KEEP UP WITH A 50-70 HOUR WORK WEEK IS A LOSING GAME
5. PROGRAMMING IS NEITHER A RACE NOR MARATHON
6. IT’S TRAINING
7. PROGRAMMING IS HARD ON THE BODY
8. PROGRAMMING IS HARD ON THE EYES
9. PROGRAMMING IS HARD ON THE MIND
10. BUT! ! WE’RE AT JSCONF!!! WE’RE TOO SMART TO OVERWORK!
13. WE’RE VERY GOOD AT DECEIVING OURSELVES
14. WE HATE VULNERABILITY
15. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT
16. NEVER ASK FOR HELP
 
 UNLESS IT’S STACK OVERFLOW
17. LET ME BE
18. VULNERABLE
19. FOR YOU
20. MATTHEW BERGMAN @FOTOVERITE
21. I HAVE RSI
22. REPETIVE
23. STRESS
24. INJURY
25. RSI IS CAUSED BY REPETITION OF MOVEMENTS OR POSITION OVER A LONG TIME
26. TIME BEING YEARS
27. I DON’T OVERWORK
28. LET’S BE CLEAR
29. I WORK 20-30 HOURS MAX
30. THINGS BUILD UP
31. TV
32. VIDEO GAMES
33. DRINKING
34. LIFE
35. YOUR CRAPPY OFFICE CHAIR MIGHT LAST FIVE YEARS BUT BAD POSTURE IS FOREVER
36. I THOUGHT I TOOK CARE OF MYSELF
37. I’M DOWN WITH THIS QUANTIFIED SELF! IT’S HALF GREEN!
38. WE’RE VERY GOOD AT DECEIVING OURSELVES
39. ACTUALLY IT’S A THIRD
40. YOU CAN’T LOOK AT A PERSON AND KNOW IF THEY’RE HEALTHY
41. YOU CAN’T LOOK AT A PERSON AND KNOW IF THEY’RE HEALTHY YOU CAN’T LOOK AT YOURSELF AND KNOW THAT YOU'RE HEALTHY
42. IN AUGUST OF 2013 MY HANDS STARTED FEELING DIFFERENT
43. IT STARTED AS DULL ACHE AND PINS AND NEEDLES IN BOTH PINKY AND RING FINGERS
44. I DO RESEARCH
45. HAVE YOU BEEN ON WEB-MD?!
46. OR CUBITAL TUNNEL DIABETIC NEUROPATHY
47. I GET SO STRESSED I START HAVING PINS AND NEEDLES IN MY FEET
48. MY GP SAYS IT’S STRESS, GIVES ME ANTI-ANXIETY PILLS AND TELLS ME TO RELAX
49. I FEEL A BIT BETTER
50. I TAKE A TRIP
51. THE PAIN GETS SEVERE
52. I CONTINUE TO TYPE
53. WORKING THROUGH PAIN IS ALWAYS STUPID
54. I LEAVE EVENTS EARLY
55. I GET DEPRESSED
56. PAIN IS DRAINING
57. YOU’VE GOT ONLY SO MANY SPOONS http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/wpress/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon- theory/
58. YOU NEED TO MAKE CHOICES ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH THE ENERGY YOU HAVE LEFT
59. I CONVINCE MYSELF IT’S TENDONITIS OR GOLFER ELBOW
60. THOSE ARE BOTH STILL REPETITIVE STRESS INJURIES
61. THERE IS A MYRIAD OF SYNDROMS / DISEASES THAT FALL UNDER RSI CARPAL TUNNEL CUBITAL TUNNEL RADIAL TUNNEL GUYON’S CANYON SYNDROM DE QUEVAIN SYNDROME FOCAL DYSTONIA
62. I’VE READ BOOKS DEDICATED TO PROGRAMMING AND HEALTH THAT ONLY COVERED CARPEL TUNNEL
63. SO WTF IS RSI REALLY
64. IT’S THE BUILD UP OF MICRO-TRAUMAS TO MUSCLE AND LIGAMENTS ! INFLAMMATION OF MUSCLES AND NERVES
 SCAR TISSUE GETTING IN THE WAY OF MOVEMENT; BINDING DOWN YOUR MUSCLES
65. RSI IS YOUR BODY NOT WORKING IN SYNC
66. PARTS ARE OVERWORKED
67. PARTS ARE UNDERWORKED
68. THE PAIN MOVES
69. THE PAIN IS JUST A SYMPTOM
70. YOUR BODY IS WRONG
71. THAT WHAT MAKES IT SO SCARY
72. BY THE TIME I RETURN FROM JSCONF-EU I CAN’T EVEN LOOK AT A KEYBOARD
73. I CONTINUE TO TYPE
74. LET ME REPEAT
75. WORKING WHILE IN PAIN IS STUPID
76. HYPERSENSITIVITY IN THE PINKY AND RING FINGER SHARP PAIN IN THE ELBOW PAIN IN THUMBS PAIN IN SHOULDERS DEVASTATING PAIN IN NECK
77. AT MY WORST
78. SITTING IN THE SHOWER UNABLE TO MOVE UNABLE TO THINK NOT KNOWING HOW TO GO ON
79. I’M SUICIDAL
80. I TELL NO ONE
81. I
82. TELL
83. NO ONE
84. I RATIONALIZE NOT SEEING A PHYCOLOGIST
85. I DON’T TELL MY BOSS
86. I DON’T TELL MY FRIENDS
87. I KEEP SEEING DOCTORS
88. THEY AREN’T VERY USEFUL
89. THE HUMAN BODY IS AMAZINGLY COMPLEX
90. YOU ARE A BUNCH OF FAILING TAP TESTS TO DOCTORS THERE IS NO STACK OVERFLOW FOR YOUR BODY
91. DOCTORS ARE JUST HUMAN BEINGS THEY AREN’T INFALLIBLE AND THEY DON’T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS
92. I HAVE TWO MRIs
93. THIS IS AFTER THREE MONTHS
94. THE SECOND CONFIRMS THICKENING OF THE ULNAR NERVE
95. I GO TO PHYSICAL THERAPY
96. I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY DIAGNOSED WITH A PARTICULAR SYNDROME
97. IT HELPS A BIT
98. I’M STILL IN A LOT OF PAIN
99. I’M STILL DEPRESSED AND TERRIFIED
100. IT’S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN DO WHILE IN A LOT OF PAIN EVERY MOVEMENT OF MY HANDS DURING THIS TALK WAS AGONY
101. I DECIDE TO TAKE A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE SITUATION
102. MY OLD WORK AREA
103. MY NEW WORK AREA
104. THE STANDING DESK HELPS
105. IT’S THE CONSTANT MOVEMENT THAT’S IMPORTANT
106. STANDING IS JUST AS DANGEROUS AS SITTING IF YOU NEVER CHANGE POSITION
107. JOINT COMPRESSION
108. JOINT COMPRESSION THROMBOSIS
109. JOINT COMPRESSION THROMBOSIS SPIDER VEINS
110. JOINT COMPRESSION THROMBOSIS SPIDER VEINS BAD POSTURE
111. POSTURE IS YOUR DEFAULT NEUTRAL SPINE
112. GOOD POSTURE IS RIB CAGE OVER PELVIC BONE
113. GOOD POSTURE IS DEFAULTING BACK TO LEAST AMOUNT OF STRESS ON THE BODY AFTER STRETCHING
114. I START GOING TO GYM
115. EXERCISE IS AMAZINGLY COMPLEX
116. ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY PICK UP A WEIGHT AND EXERCISE
117. I HAVE SPENT TENS OF HOURS TRYING TO LEARN TO SQUAT WITH GOOD FORM POSTURE AND MOVEMENT ARE PARAMOUNT YOU DON’T WANT TO HURT YOURSELF MORE
118. DO NOT GO IN WITHOUT A GAME PLAN!
119. VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF HAVE A BUDDY GET A TRAINER
120. VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF HAVE A BUDDY GET A TRAINER
121. I’M STILL LEARNING
122. IT’S WEIRD BEING A JOCK
123. PROGRESSION IS KEY
124. REMISSION OF PAIN IS THE KEY
125. IF YOU DON’T FEEL BETTER AFTER THE EXERCISE STOP DOING IT
126. DO NOT FEEL INTIMIDATED
127. STRENGTH TRAINING IS IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE
128. TRANS* FEMALE
 MALE 
 GENDERQUEER
129. I ALSO START GOING TO YOGA
130. A FUCK-TON
131. YOGA OR PILATES ARE THOUGHT TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WITH PREVENTION OF RSI AND REMISSION OF SYMPTOMS
132. YOU NEED TO WORK YOUR ENTIRE BODY NOT JUST THE PAIN POINT
133. I HEAR YOU
134. I HATE EXERCISE I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME
135. I HATED EXERCISE BEFORE THIS
136. SIX MONTHS LATER
137. I STILL HATE EXERCISE
138. I GO ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT WILL NOT CHANGE
139. I FEEL BETTER NOW
140. NOT PERFECT, BETTER
141. I MEASURE GROWTH IN SMALL VICTORIES
142. OPENING A DOOR WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT
143. SITTING IN A CHAIR WITHOUT PAIN
144. WRESTING MY ELBOWS ON TABLE
145. AND I HAVE LEARNED
146. PAIN IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR
147. BUT
148. YOU NEED HOPE
149. HOPE THAT PAIN WILL IMPROVE
150. THAT TOMORROW YOU CAN DO MORE THAN TODAY
151. PAIN IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR
152. PAIN WITHOUT HOPE LEADS TO DESPAIR
153. WE’RE GETTING OLDER
154. JUST LIKE CODE YOUR BODY WON’T STAY STRONG AND FAST WITHOUT REFACTORING
155. THERE IS NO IMMORTAL PROGRAMMER (EXCEPT @SUBSTACK)
156. THERE ARE NO SHORT CUTS TO HEALTH
157. YOUR STANDING DESK ALONE WON’T SAVE YOU
158. I’M LUCKY I FREELANCE ! I MAKE MY OWN HOURS
159. DEDICATING 4 HOURS A WEEK IS HARD WITH A FAMILY AFTER A FORTY HOUR WORK WEEK
160. I MEAN YOU COULD USE YOUR CHILDREN AS WEIGHTS ! THEY DO GET HEAVIER WITH TIME
161. HEALTH BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL NEEDS TO BE A TENET OF OUR INDUSTRY NOT SOMETHING YOU DO AFTER WORK
162. LONGEVITY IS PART OF OUR JOB NOT SEPARATED FROM IT
163. IT’S GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY
164. YOUR BODY WILL BE WITH YOU LONG AFTER YOUR JOB, YOUR STARTUP, YOUR LANGUAGE IS GONE
165. ALL YOUR KNOWLEDGE MEANS NOTHING IF PAIN KEEPS YOU FROM BEING ABLE TO FUNCTION
166. WE NEED TO TALK MORE ABOUT STUFF RELATED TO PROGRAMMING BUT NOT PROGRAMMING
167. THIS YEAR HAS CHANGED ME
168. TEN YEARS FROM NOW IT STILL WILL HAVE CHANGED ME
169. IF YOU NEED TO TALK I AM HERE
170. REFERENCES
171. I USE STRONGLIFTS.COM FOR WORKING PLANNING
172. LIMITED BUT USEFUL INFORMATION SCIENTIFIC OF STUDY OF SUPER SLOW DETAILS MULTIPLE WAYS TO STRENGTH TRAIN BEST BOOK ON EXERCISE FREE WEIGHT FORM GREAT BOOK ON STRETCHES AND EXERCISE TO RELIEVE PAIN PER MUSCLE GROUP OVERVIEW OF MULTIPLE TYPES OF RSI AND HOW THEY PROGRESS AND IMPROVE IN-DEPTH LOOK INTO MOVEMENT DISFUNCTION BROAD BUT INTERESTING FOR HISTORY AND CONTEXT
173. THANK YOU ( YOU CAN CLAP NOW )