Burnout in Code: When Mental Health Takes a Hit in Software Development

I never thought I’d say this out loud, but here it is:
I’m mentally exhausted.

I’ve been writing code for over a decade. It’s what I’m good at. I love building things, solving tough problems, and watching something come alive from nothing but logic. But these days, even opening my IDE feels heavy.

The job market is rough. Every day I wake up, check my emails, LinkedIn, job boards… and there’s nothing. Or worse—just rejections. One after another.

It’s not just about not having a job.
It’s about the silence.
It’s about feeling like I’m no longer needed.
It’s about wondering if I’ve been left behind while the tech world races forward with AI and buzzwords.

Some days, I sit in front of my laptop for hours and barely write a line of code. Not because I don’t know how, but because I just… can’t. The motivation is gone. The excitement is gone. The imposter syndrome is louder than ever.

No one talks about this part of being a developer. We talk about frameworks, performance, tools—but not the mental cost of trying to stay relevant, to survive layoffs, to constantly prove we still belong.

It’s hard to admit, but I’m not okay.

And maybe you aren’t either.
Maybe you’re also tired of pretending that everything is fine during every networking call and interview.
Maybe you also feel like you’re screaming into a void.

If that’s you—I just want you to know, you’re not alone.
It’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed. You’re human, not a machine.

Let’s normalize talking about mental health in tech.
Let’s take care of ourselves—not just our resumes.

Because no job is more important than your well-being.

— A developer trying to hold it together