Having burned out a number of times, I think that perhaps you would benefit greatly from investigating what burn out actually is, and the causes of it, rather than making broad assumptions about it.

For instance, burn-out has less to do with what you are doing, and more to do with the stress and effort required. It doesn't matter if you're disarming bombs ("bomb technician," huh?) or grading freshman assignments. What's more relevant to it is the value you place on the task, the recovery time (off hours) you get, and level of stress placed upon you. Even the most dreary job can burn you out if the employer demands near-impossible targets.

Educate yourself, then you won't seem as much of an arrogant arse to the rest of the world.

> Having burned out a number of times

So this more like a being sick of doing things temporarily?

What you are doing and the effort you have to put in is what puts stress on you isn't it?

> ("bomb technician," huh?)

Huh what? Wrong term? Are you seriously saying that job that puts your life in danger causes the same amount of stress as grading papers? Sure, grading papers can take effort, but come on... That is just plain wrong... Have you ever been in life or death situation? Not much compares to it...

If your employer demands near-impossible targets and you are aware of this and not living in the country where it is impossible to find another job you are the fault.

Maybe I am seem like arrogant arse but you seem like you are totally disconnected from reality.

> Also unless you are doing really stressful work what is it that makes you burn out?

I think you are making too many assumptions about what kind of work and what work environments are stressful for different people.

Could the term "burn out" be abused? Of course, it's something that is difficult for others to verify. That fact doesn't make it less real for those actually experiencing it.

Maybe I am, but really stressful environments are stressful for everyone.

If you are unable to cope with some levels of stress it is not the coding that is the problem, it is you. Or do we just go around blaming everything else for our problems?

Should I blame you or me for my karma score? Come on...

He's not blaming others.

He took ownership of the situation and made specific changes in his life. And guess what? It was a good thing. He said he is doing better now.

Sure, often times people struggle with making these types of improvements in their lives, but I think it is pretty antagonistic to view that as some sort of shameful moral failing, as you seem to be describing. For some, they might not have a lot of great options in the near term, and dealing with that can be difficult.

What's your main point here? It seems like you have some sort of axe to grind.

> Also the words "burnt out" sounds like one those buzz words people come up to feel like more special snow flakes...

I dunno, based on his accomplishments and how much I rely on his work on a daily basis, I consider the OP to be a special snowflake if snowflakes exist.

True, I also use his work, and I am not saying he personally is a bad person, but these burn out posts come so often lately that it makes me wonder if people even know any definition of it.

Quick google search tells me this: > ruin one's health or become completely exhausted through overwork.

And the only thing the post saysis

> It happens to everyone that writes code all day long — the sudden feeling of "I'd rather do anything else than this right now" — even though writing software is one of your favorite activities in the world.

This is not burn out... I'd rather do something else does not mean your health is ruined from overwork... But maybe I am just nitpicking...

read Ken Reitz' original article more closely. he actually did attribute the causes of his burn-out to various problems that weren't simply "too many hours of coding". the emotional drain from the politics and communications overhead of doing high-profile OSS projects seemed to be his primary problem.