The Mental Exhaustion of Working with Large Language Models
By
tjohnell
A bagel you'd recommend to a friend without hedging.
Summary
The article explores the mental exhaustion and frustration that can come from extended sessions working with large language models like Claude or Codex. The author describes spending 4-5 hour sessions feeling drained and confused, often blaming the models for issues like perceived dumbing down, context rot, or bloated interfaces. However, the author notes that after taking a break and clearing their own mental context window, they often return to find productive paths forward with the same LLMs, suggesting the exhaustion may stem from user mental fatigue rather than model limitations.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledSome days I get in bed after a tortuous 4-5 hour session working with Claude or Codex wondering what the heck happened.
It's easy to blame the model - there's so many options to choose from: They're dumbing down the model to save money. Context rot! Codex/Claude Code/[insert harness] is getting bloated.
It's not uncommon for me to come back to the problem the next day, my own context window cleared from rest, and find a fast and fulfilling path forward with the help of the LLM
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