You are able to, that’s a defining trait of being human… what you may not be capable of without a serious mind shift is applying yourself to that learning. The first step of that will be seriously lowering what you think of as decent money (if you live somewhere that actually requires millions, which is effectively nowhere on Earth you’d ever want to be, then move elsewhere) and then getting control of that shame impulse. Doing that is going to be best helped by seeking out mild antidepressants, individual therapy (CBT works), and time in nature (in no particular order). You don’t need, or want, tech bro money or tech bro work, find something you can concentrate on, and do it.

Fake it till you make it works, you just have to lower your bar on what you only think due to bad marketing represents making it.

You’re only surprised because you haven’t spent enough time watching pigeons. They’re beautiful birds, many past societies literally worshipped them, and they saved a lot of butts in both World Wars. They’ve fallen from grace because 20th century plus humans don’t like what survives and thrives wild in their cities, especially when they associate them with dirt and garbage the humans leave everywhere.

>And then there is AI.

Look, I'm sad to say I absolutely know the headspace you're wandering right now, and I don't have a panacea. I can tell you though, fuck the AI hype wave. Fact is, if it gets to the point where the 1% decide to fuck the other 95%, it ain't gonna end well for somebody, and we all know who not for the most. If you're gonna throw your lot in with anyone, save your soul, and give the finger to most of the types that consider themselves above everyone else. Solidarity is something bore by the humbled and humble, and is likely part of what drove your own parents to take the longshot on you. They still love you, and the best thing you can do for yourself is follow their example and learn to love you too.

You need to work on loving you, for you. Even though that may be extremely difficult right now, it is possible, but you have to look for the ways how. The first step in that, is to admit those ways might exist. If you spend enough time truly feeling self-loathing and internalizing it, what'll happen is your consciousness will shove it deep down into the unconscious, where it'll take on a life of it's own, and get stronger and stronger over time. C. G. Jung, a psychologist of the 20th century coined a term for this process, enantidromia, and it's kind of a consequence of being a human. Normally things even themselves out, but in certain cases, the repression of those parts of yourself can be so severe that it turns straight up pathological, and never gets a chance to even out in a less disruptive way. Given the conscious mind kinda floats on top of the unconscious faculties, orchestrating what you've mentally automated over the years, and what you can begin to experience is a very alarming tendency for these pathologically amplified loops to break into your conscious processing loop to great deleterious effect on your overall quality of life.

I've experimented with a couple therapeutic techniques that might help alleviate a few things/maybe help you find some direction.

Try looking up Dr. Tori Olds series on Coherence Therapy, AEDP, and Internal Family Systems.

https://m.youtube.com/@DrToriOlds

Even if you can't afford a therapist to work with you, it should give you enough of a grounding in the technique that you should be able to equip at least a few parts of your psyche with the tools to start to knit itself back together. The essence of these techniques are severalfold:

A) You are many-parted, and each of those parts is a fragment of you that has played a part in getting you where you are today, and keeping you alive.

B) There are no bad parts. Just bad times to use parts that are insufficiently integrated.

C) You can integrate and heal these parts. It takes time, dedication, and an openness to experiencing/reliving the insecurities of your past, and bringing new, wiser insight to these parts of you. They're already there, but isolated from one another. The healing process though will open up entirely new avenues of life you never thought of once you break the fundamental pathological loops that have dominated your unconscious faculties.

I can't say it'll fully fix you. Still working through some dodginess myself. But I'd be remiss to let someone whose tread those parts of the human experience go without giving them a glimpse on what has at least helped me pull out of some of the worst days it.

Keep trying. The only way out is through, and by wrestling with the unconscious, you'll be amazed the changes that'll pop up. It may not be the ones you want, but at least it won't be the same self-destructive loops you dealt with the day before.

I believe in you. You can do this.

[flagged]

Find your tribe, they won't be the best of the best hackers on the internet, they'll be folks happy to figure out fizbuzz on a good day.

If you aren't suitable for white collar track, you very well know you can get into blue collar trades or become a taxi driver.

The tests for ADHD and some variations of depression are leaky, erroneous shit. Just get the drugs (Adderall xr, Wellbutrin) and see if these help.

You say you tried some NDRI spectrum drugs, this probably means you have some rare type of depression or schizo spectrum disorder, or something else entirely.

If your parents truly care about you they will find you a decent doctor that will diagnose it.

>it did not stop them from learning or becoming great engineers.

You seem not to be wired to get intrinsic motivation from coding, idk.