(Please note that I am in therapy for my social anxiety.)
Hi everyone!
I’m very new to freeCodeCamp, and I’m overwhelmed by everything, but one of those things in particular is Discord. I keep seeing it everywhere I go such as Frontend Masters, The Odin Project, Zero To Mastery, etc.
I’ve used Discord before but stopped because of my anxiety and because I’m much more of a lurker. I didn’t like all the activity, especially in big servers where it’s always active, and I can’t be a people person like others can.
In comparison, I’m more comfortable on a forum like this one, but it feels like it’s a must to join a Discord for coding. I like the idea of being part of a supportive online community, and my therapist also supports my decision to start learning to code, but it’s just not easy for me to jump into all that. (Honestly, even writing this took a little courage.)
Could you guys please give me some advice on this?
Hi @Moonriser and welcome to the forum.
A personal opinion that might help you is that you don’t need Discord for coding. If you’re more comfortable being on the forum then that’s perfect. I’ve been coding for almost a year now and I haven’t joined a Discord server once. Actually, I did try to join one but I didn’t have a good experience maybe so I just removed Discord from my coding program. I am sure there are a lot of ways you can learn and code without joining discord. As for this forum, it’s a perfect place to receive support and help on your coding journey. Everyone’s friendly and you can solve your problems in any category. That’s my opinion and I hope it becomes easy for you to be a part of this community. Good luck!
I’m Toan, and I have anxiety, too. But my kind is GAD (Generalize Anxiety Disorders), not social anxiety.
I don’t have any problem socializing with others, but I resonate with you about the feeling of being overwhelmed, and it’s the main source of my anxiety. There are so much things to learn and the technology is just keep changing.
But I’ve learnt that “impostor syndrome” is a real thing and it’s common among programmer community. Normal programmers feel overwhelmed like us too.
My advice is just ignoring all those noises and focusing on the joy of learning to code.
Just take a small step, one step at a time, learn only one thing at a time.
About using Discord, I don’t like it either, with its constant flooding of new messages and the lack of structure for topics.
If the Discord communities make you feel overwhelmed, then my advice is take a step back from it, and only using it when you need help.
By the way, feel free to drop me a message anytime you want someone to talk to.
Just to confirm here, I’m learning coding and I haven’t found being on Discord necessary in the least. It could even be a distraction if it drains too much of your study time. The forum here has definitely been sufficient, at least for me, to get help and feedback when I needed it, as well as simply learning about different programming topics by simply reading posts. You don’t need to worry.
The best way to code is silence, being calm, ready to be frustrated a bit and having quiet, patient persistence. A bit of low-volume music in the background is fine too, if it doesn’t distract. Research solutions to problems as they come - don’t be anxious about the amount of everything you need to learn. As long as you code something everyday, even if it’s a line or two, you’re making progress. Believe me. And you will be surprised by how much you’ve learned before you know it.
I feel anxious around a lot of people I don’t know too, especially in a live setting where I don’t have time to think before I communicate. But there’s absolutely no need to feel anxious about writing here on the forum. We’re all here to learn, and we all make mistakes too. I have always found the community here helpful and encouraging, and I think you will too.
Thank you so much, everyone! I made this post some hours ago before going to bed, not really feeling good about anything coding and wondering if I had to force myself to use Discord or else give up. Reading your replies makes me feel A LOT better, especially knowing that there are others coding with anxiety like me and that Discord isn’t the must that I thought it was.
I think someday I’ll try it for coding so that I can say I at least tried, but otherwise, I’ll take your guys’ advice and stick with this forum!
Sadly, Reddit is like Discord to me, though I admit that I never used either for coding before. I quit Reddit earlier this year (very bad experience there, also realized I was addicted to the internet and things like social media).
Between the two, I’d rather use Discord if I want to check out those coding servers I saw, but so far, this forum has been the best support.
