I'm currently on one. Was very burnt out from high stress environments and not practicing enough self care for the past five years. I experienced daily bouts of

I'm currently on one. Was very burnt out from high stress environments and not practicing enough self care for the past five years. I experienced daily bouts of mild to intense anxiety despite being what most people interpret as a calm person. Reasoning, I was laid off and decided to not take a job. I took unemployment. Positive benefits: I mellowed out, started having more patience, and could see how a big source of burnout was how attached my ego was to my work. I started working on a link shortener a couple of months ago. Despite it being a hobby project that a lot of folks undertake, building something resilient that is somewhat well-designed is a lot of work. Biggest benefit: I started looking at programming as more of something that I'm capable of instead of my self worth / value on display in pull requests. > Did you return to your old job? Nope. > Would you have done anything differently? More routine. It's liberating to be able to do what you want, as you want, but I would posit that a majority of humans thrive on routines. > Is there anything bad out of the sabbatical that you didn't expect? Friends and family being concerned for my well-being despite my spirits being much higher