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Comment by jsz0 | Hacker News Reader

I kind of ruined up my career some by taking an extended break to pursue other interests like depression and sleeping 12+ hours per day. What I didn't really factor into my choice was employers are scared of people who have the financial independence to take breaks like this because they cannot be relied on to be loyal wage slaves. I haven't found a great way to overcome this yet because I totally get their concerns. Anyone who doesn't an absolutely 100% need the job is not as dependable. I don't want to be deceptive about why I took a break but in this case it feels like honesty just isn't gonna work.

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>and sleeping 12+ hours per day.

I hit rock bottom and have slowly dug out. It was more on the relationship side of things.

One thing I noticed these days is I tend to get very sleepy. I am not sure whether it is age related as I am approaching 40. The sleep is such that I fall asleep while typing or if I am reading I fall asleep and the book falls down. I can sleep for long hours and I feel very nice after waking up like it is a new day or something.

I eat decently and I cook what I eat. I also don't have any habits. Is it just age related or something deeper?

First thought is you probably need to exercise. Even light cardio for 20 min daily will help.

I think you are right. I have to get some exercise as my mind too is getting very slow.

How much time did you spend pursuing those new “hobbies”?

I would imagine saying you took some time off for your mental health would be totally fine, I’d have no problems saying that or hiring someone who said that.

3 years which is unfortunately on the cusp of legitimately being out of the loop on current trends. I can't blame any employer for not wanting to take that risk when there are plenty of other candidates to choose from. It definitely effects my confidence in applying for jobs because I know my little hobby projects I've continued to work on are not the same thing as stepping right back into a production environment. I think all I can really do is be honest and hope to find a sympathetic employer willing to toss me a rope. Alternatively I'll have to step back to a more jr role for a while to get my chops back up.

I think the trick is, if they ask about the gap in employment, to simply tell them that you had to take time off to care for a family member. Anything past that is not their business. Depending on your state/country, it's illegal to ask for more details.

I hope that you don't feel bad or anything -- you're not the only person to have health/family/whatever issues.

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