Episode 473: Mental health support and overcoming FOMO of taking a break from work

45 snips

Aug 11, 2025

Dive into a lighthearted exploration of workplace dynamics and mental health. The hosts tackle the challenges of supporting neurodivergent colleagues, especially those with ADHD, discussing effective strategies for fostering productivity. You'll hear personal stories about the juggling act of parental leave and staying relevant in tech amidst family life. Plus, enjoy playful debates on digital identity and whimsical community names, all wrapped in humor and relatable insights!

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ANECDOTE

Retreat Where Everyone Shared Mental Health

On a team retreat, every teammate ended up disclosing a mental health diagnosis.
That moment showed how common mental-health struggles can be and normalized asking for support.

ADVICE

Own Outcomes, Don't Overuse Diagnosis

Avoid blaming ADHD for every mistake and take ownership of work outcomes.
Use your diagnosis selectively so managers trust your requests and hold you accountable.

ADVICE

Break Vague Projects Into Milestones

Break large, deadline-less projects into smaller tasks with explicit dates.
Create milestones and check-ins so vague projects stop drifting and you make steady progress.

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In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:

Hi Jamison and Dave!

I am not a developer, but my question is hopefully transferable. I sit in between lawyers and developers. I advise on technology that can be applied to legal processes and I support our teams in using a range of platforms and AI tools to be more efficient across their work.

I have ADHD (late diagnosis at 22) and often have trouble with executive function, remembering details, progressing large projects with no deadlines, and remembering verbal instructions.

Have either of you ever had a neurodivergent person on your team? If so, how did you support them? What environment helped them to work best? Also, what frustrations did you have and how could they have mitigated them?

Any help would be appreciated to help me avoid driving my manager insane (I live in constant fear that one day she will snap and I’ll be fired even multiple years in). 😂
Hi Dave and Jamison, you’ve made my runs very enjoyable over the last years, thank you so much for that - even though I doubt that laughing out all the time is great for my performance.

I’ve been in web development for 7 years now and a Lead Fullstack Engineer at a consulting firm. Being a “lead” currently only means that my team mates seek my opinion and guidance on topics, without me having any increased responsibility. In September, I’ll move countries (Europe to Australia) and will be on parental leave until mid ‘26 when I’ll have to look for a new job down under. I feel quite stressed by recent developments (AI), already have the feeling of not being able to keep up with all the new things (ask my 300 open tabs of articles I want to read), and fear that I could loose touch in my time off. How can I deal with this FOMO? And which topics would you look into in the upcoming months if you were in my place?

Episode 473: Mental health support and overcoming FOMO of taking a break from work

Retreat Where Everyone Shared Mental Health

Own Outcomes, Don't Overuse Diagnosis

Break Vague Projects Into Milestones

Show Notes