Programming is tough. I can’t count how many times a project manager or boss has swung by my desk and asked what I was working on, or come by to tell me that I have a month to complete a project that would take at least three times as long. When asked, the managers “don’t think it will take that long”.
I find that wherever I work — and in the past 25 years as working as a programmer, I’ve held three different long term positions and worked as a consultant for more than 20 firms, and a freelance developer on hundreds of projects — there are always expectations set that are simply not rational.
Often times, as programmers, we are introverts. A study from the University of Vermont found that 73% of software developers self-reported their personality, when given the choice between introvert and extrovert, as introvert. That means that, by default, we are more likely to face issues like anxiety and depression.
So, how can we manage this pressure that leads to these unwanted conditions? Giovanni, a friend of mine, and fellow senior developer at a FinTech startup in San Francisco, recommended CBD oil after it became legal after the 2018 Farm Bill late last year. He had been bugging me to try it, but I had turned him down: I am not a cannabis user, and I didn’t plan to start now.
However, when I learned that despite being called CBD (cannabidiol) and sounding like cannabis, CBD oil is not derived from cannabis and doesn’t get you high. I learned, after reading on iSum that CBD is derived from cannabinoid-rich hemp, and that CBD is one of the two main cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, but does not have to be derived strictly from cannabis.
It’s been praised as a treatment for pain in humans, but even dogs are getting in on the action. While most common for pain, it is also used for anxiety, according to this post on iSum: https://isum.com/cbd-oil-for-anxiety/. I will say: while we cannot control the pressure that our bosses put on us, what we can control is how we deal with it. While right now I don’t have any deadlines coming up as I am taking a paternity break, I will be giving CBD oil a try to see if it can help me bite my nails and pull my hair out less when placed in high pressure situations like the ones outlined above.
I will keep you all in the loop, and hope you check back for updates on my CBD journey