Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by valenaut on Tuesday April 05, 2022 @08:04PM
(#30926752)
As another person who has struggled with depressive issues at various points in my life, I really like your list. I have ticked every one of those boxes at one time or another; all of them brought me down, took effort to fix, and improved my well-being when fixed.
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by bckr on Tuesday April 05, 2022 @09:55PM
(#30927583)
Including having children?
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by tootie on Tuesday April 05, 2022 @11:55PM
(#30928297)
You can't always just pin depression on lifestyle. There's a strong biological component that influences your susceptibility to depression and every other mental illness. Some people fall in a pit over what might seem like a minor inconvenience to someone else. Some people get depressed over absolutely nothing.
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by joeman1000 on Wednesday April 06, 2022 @12:00AM
(#30928318)
I agree, but I prefer to start with these things. Smaller measures should only be passed over if they fail. I know what you mean though, I know people with mood issues like what you describe. It’s impossible to make a recommendation that suits everybody.
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by konspence on Thursday April 07, 2022 @01:35AM
(#30940951)
I suspect some of these are meant to get a rise, but I'll bite.
> + Commuting
Prior to 2020 this was the vast majority of all jobs, including tech. Most got by just fine. And today still encompasses the majority of jobs, so I would argue this is classist.
> + Neglecting talking to family
Many people have reasons not to talk to family that end up with positive mental health outcomes. Sure, it can be negative, but this seems exclusionary.
> + A certain age without kids
C'mon. This isn't the 1940s.
Please be careful when putting out lists like this.
This is juxtaposing genuine, universal indicators of depression alongside subjective ones, which when read by the wrong (misinformed, uncertain, etc.) audience, could lead to adverse outcomes.
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by hoseja on Wednesday April 06, 2022 @07:19AM
(#30930790)
Most of those are symptoms and not causes.
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by dominotw on Tuesday April 05, 2022 @09:12PM
(#30927245)
what about sex ( or lack thereof). that caused me depression at somepoint in my life.
Re:Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
by joeman1000 on Tuesday April 05, 2022 @09:42PM
(#30927479)
Of course. I think this stems from my point about not having a good partner. I don't think that sleeping around will help depression.
My opinion (not a doctor): What is wrong in your life? Are you:
+ Working too hard
+ Commuting
+ Not exercising and taking care of yourself
+ Eating a diet with lots of processed foods
+ Using drugs and alcohol as a crutch
+ Overweight
+ Not resting regularly
+ Sleeping poorly
+ Have other health issues not addressed
+ Without genuine friends
+ Without a good partner
+ A certain age without kids
+ Spending too much time on social media
+ Spending too much time watching TV
+ Not engaging in hobbies, such as reading
+ Neglecting talking to family
+ Wanting to do something different in life but ignoring it
+ Harbouring regret, judging yourself and generally being cynical
+ Judging those around you too harshly
+ Not trusting people
Etc.
I fully understand that depression causes people to avoid addressing problems like I’ve listed. I’ve been there too, and it is not easy to climb out of the hole. It’s a positive feedback loop though: you start neglecting things (maybe due to time constraints), you lose a bit of happiness/stability, you neglect more things & so on. The hard part is to break out of the loop and start ticking these boxes. Start small and don’t judge yourself harshly if you slip.
Really do examine my small list and see if any of these things are pulling you down. If there’s something there you can’t fix, don’t beat yourself up on it. That’s the last thing to do. No one can be perfect, so don’t worry.