This is an important read about commitment and identity with respect to the work you do. Although not everyone will have underlying illnesses the fallout can be as severe.

Looking back at my academic career I see many parallels in the "costs" mentioned:

- sold my twenties to institutes/labs
- traveled too much
- gave too much of myself away (for free)
- strain on mental health

https://kennethreitz.org/essays/2026-03-18-open_source_gave_me_everything_until_i_had_nothing_left_to_give

#academicchatter #academia

Open Source Gave Me Everything Until I Had Nothing Left to Give

I thought I was having a spiritual awakening. I was having a psychiatric emergency. I was at a tech conference in Sweden when it started. I hadn't slept in...

Kenneth Reitz

@koen_hufkens oof, harrowing.

"I would have kept my identity separate from my projects." - great advice for past me (and probably a lot of PhD candidates). It was a tough lesson to learn that equating academic success (or lack thereof) with my identity was a bad move.

@michcampbell @koen_hufkens

...this is tough in academia. I was *great* at separating my identity from my research work, set boundaries - and that was an issue. "You are not serious enough"

I understand, and have seen, that entire essay. Its also been me, trying to find work and fuck. I'm *still* doing a paper review for zero money as in not paid in any way shape or form.

Anyway yes, work is work. Life is life. No matter how tempting, keep a boundary. Even if you love the work.

@adamsteer @michcampbell @koen_hufkens I set boundaries early on, which my PHD supervisor respected and encouraged, but someone else on my committee did not. They ended up writing a comment on one of my papers! It is not necessary to be on all the time.
@DrEvanGowan @adamsteer @michcampbell @koen_hufkens So much of this resonates with what I have experienced as an urban public high school teacher in the last 30 years. We are absolutely encouraged to erase all boundaries and find our only motivation in “doing it for the children” and “taking care of our babies”. Don’t you want kids to have opportunities? Spend your weekends coaching debate for $1.30 an hour! Your students are hungry when they come to class, can’t you go to Target and buy breakfast snacks to have on hand? Don’t all 400 students you will teach next year deserve personalized learning plans? Spend your summer designing curriculum for free, because what are you, greedy? If you really cared about equity, then you’d pay $1500 to attend this conference! And on and on and on - preying on the refrain “If you were a good person, you’d do this without question!” The only force pushing back has been the Teachers Union.
@MsDK12 @DrEvanGowan @adamsteer @koen_hufkens hoping for a renewal of the union movement! Sorry for your experience, teachers have it so hard.