[SkyPuncher]

I ended up in a similar situation last year. Amazing job, but typical startup stresses combined with some situational stuff in my personal life (moving, new jobs for partner, kids, day-care changes, etc, etc, etc) left me completely broken. I ended up leaving my job to take care of my family (thought I was done with my career, but it ended up being a sabbatical - back at the old job and doing great now)

It took about 6 months for the brain zaps to start fading. Then another 6 months for me to start feeling capable of really doing my job well. I'm 18 months into "recovery" and I still think I have another 6 to 12 months before I feel like my old self again (so about 2 to 2.5 years in total).

Time is really the only solution. You can't just think your way through it. You have to left your body's rewards systems re-adapt and re-learn how to be a healthy, happy human.

[nicbou]

Brain zaps?

[SkyPuncher]

I thought it was a somewhat common medical term, but all of the sources are from SSRI withdrawl (which is likely still the same symptom, just a different reason). My apologies for leaving it ambiguous.

For me, it basically felt like my brain was misfiring when it'd respond to some sort of external stimuli (often basic work tasks). It was almost like my brain was getting a muscle cramp combined with a dose of adrenaline (think getting scared). It was almost like a thought would fire off in my brain, cascade around a bit, then never find anything. I could feel my brain searching for connections, but never making them.

My best guess is I was essentially in fight or flight mode so severely that all of my thoughts were firing off my lizard brain type reactions. My brain was reacting as if I were in a deadly situation, just trying to keep me surviving.