When Nobody Notices: Addiction in the Tech Community

Addiction doesn't have a particular job title or work environment. It can affect someone working from home, sitting in an office, managing a team, or writing code, and it isn't always obvious to the people around them or even to the person experiencing it.

I'm not a clinician, counselor, or expert on addiction. I'm a software developer who experienced problems with alcohol and eventually recognized that I needed help. That experience made me interested in how addiction can intersect with our lives as developers and members of a technical community.

In this session, we'll look at some of the circumstances that can surround substance-use problems, including stress, isolation, burnout, workplace culture, and remote work. We'll talk about why a problem can be hard to recognize, especially when someone stays productive and successful, and what we can do when we start noticing concerning patterns in ourselves or someone else.

This isn't about diagnosing anyone or promoting a particular approach to recovery. It's about awareness, reducing stigma, understanding where to find help, and building a community where it's a little easier to say, "I think I might have a problem."