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Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

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Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#131

Post by AnthonBerg »

jedimastert wrote: post #60
AnthonBerg wrote: post #10

For me: Lift weights and perform intense physical activity to exhaustion. Don’t smoke tobacco or cannabis. Don’t really drink either. Meditation. 12-step work. Wellbutrin (bupropion) has helped me out of holes. Have close friends to confide in. Say what you’re thinking. Don’t say what you’re not thinking. Follow pointless dreams in some measure. For me, being able to buy a legendary Husaberg FE 570 motorcycle was an…

When you say "12-step work", do you mean AA kinda 12 step? May I ask what kind of addiction you would be going through?

It was Al-Anon. The theory was that there were maladaptive communications patterns in the generations before me, as well as alcoholism (as a coping mechanism?). The result was a more effective locus of control over life, as captured by the phrase about serenity to accept what I cannot change / courage to change what I can change / wisdom to know the difference. There are two sets delineated in this: what I can change, and what I cannot. I can change my thoughts and actions. Nothing else. I didn’t know that, or wasn’t aware. Maladaptive communication patterns in families seem to revolve around a misguided but understandable attempt to protect oneself through control of others. If that makes sense? :)

I did it without a classical God btw. The steps say to use a God such as we understand one. I used a non-deistic definition. God is in our capacity for trust and intimacy and altruism as a species, perhaps? Hard to pin it down. It worked.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#132

Post by AnthonBerg »

nascar_is_bad wrote: post #35
Jaruzel wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good list. > Say what you’re thinking. Don’t say what you’re not thinking. But I Love this one. :)

could you elaborate on what exactly it means?

I guess it’s hard to pin down exactly :) I guess it’s a variation of ‘To thine own self be true’. For me, I think there tends to be a background process running which attempts to find the correct and socially acceptable thing to say. This is often not related to what I find to be true and important myself. It’s kind of a simulation of a simulation: I-perceive-that-what-I-perceive-are-people’s-intentions-is-answered-by-this-pattern-I-have-observed. It’s a habit and it’s a relief when it can be tuned down a bit.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#133

Post by AnthonBerg »

2dollars27cents wrote: post #78
AnthonBerg wrote: post #10

For me: Lift weights and perform intense physical activity to exhaustion. Don’t smoke tobacco or cannabis. Don’t really drink either. Meditation. 12-step work. Wellbutrin (bupropion) has helped me out of holes. Have close friends to confide in. Say what you’re thinking. Don’t say what you’re not thinking. Follow pointless dreams in some measure. For me, being able to buy a legendary Husaberg FE 570 motorcycle was an…

Awesome bike! Exploring on a motorcycle (and meeting people along the way) has a huge return on investment in my experience.

Sincere thanks for your understanding! it really is an amazing machine.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#134

Post by cweagans »

gain_sky wrote: post #123
Raphmedia wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, roughly one person out of 600? That's a lot. Especially online, you probably interact with such people a lot more often that you think.

I know how often I interact with such people precisely: 0.17% of the people I interact with have this, whether online or in real life.

> 0.17% of the people I interact with have this, whether online or in real life.

I know it's pedantic, but that's not true. 0.17% of people have DSPS. It's entirely possible that you don't regularly interact with anyone that has DSPS.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#135

Post by NathanCH »

wilsonnb2 wrote: post #66
fredley wrote: post #28

If your depression is serious, and it's preventing you from living your life, or if you're feeling suicidal, see a doctor or call a hotline. Now. If you have mild depression, or want to not get depressed in the first place, I'd recommend the following: Do exercise, do it outside if at all possible. Even light exercise like going for a walk is better than none. Don't take your phone. Turn off and shut away your electr…

> Get something to look after. A dog, or if you don't have time or space, a cat, or if you really don't have time or space a plant or two. As someone with two dogs and occasional bouts of mild depression, I would caution against getting a dog for this purpose. It's a lot of responsibility, and it helps some people with depression but hurts others. A plant is a much better idea. If it doesn't work out, just throw it a…

Perhaps you don't see the value in having a pet during depression because you already have one.

Being responsible for someone or something is difficult, it's supposed to be.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#136

Post by NathanCH »

HiroshiSan wrote: post #7
Davidbrcz wrote: post #2

To see a doctor ?

This is the only reasonable response in any thread on mental illness. Depression is too much of an important issue to not see a doctor, and unless we know OP's full history, any number of things could work or not work.

Can be attributed to lack of trust in the medical system. Just look at doctor's willingness to give out opoids. Doctor's first line of defense for depression is SSRIs, if those don't work they often try Serequel or worse.

A doctor won't analyze your life like a therapist would and ensure you have a good diet, sleeping schedule, friends, career, family, etc. For 99% of people these are the causes of depression and can be remidied without medication.

And don't chalk this up to a USA problem. I'm from Canada and my doctor is a pill pusher.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#138

Post by rs86 »

Get medical help. I had very bad OCD symptoms 8 years ago and citalopram has completely eliminated all symptoms, no side effects. By medical help I mean both a psychiatrist and a psychologist. And keep in mind that you should try a few professionals until you find someone who can treat you, psychologists and doctors can be extremely different, do not give up too soon if you find it awkward.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#139

Post by svartfal »

It’s only been mentioned once so I’ll restate it: Gratitude practice. Do more than one if you want. 5 minute journal app is a great start.

I use the app and also do a gratitude practice with my children at the end of the day. Interestingly, no matter how bad my day went, if I end it doing gratitude with my children my recollection of the day is positive. I can be having a day where everything seems to be going wrong and I see no point in even trying to win at life. If I end the day with gratitude and look back on it the next day I feel like “oh, I remember I had some setbacks but it was a good day.” Only happens if I do the practice, otherwise I ruminate for days.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

#140

Post by gremlinsinc »

wilsonnb2 wrote: post #66
fredley wrote: post #28

If your depression is serious, and it's preventing you from living your life, or if you're feeling suicidal, see a doctor or call a hotline. Now. If you have mild depression, or want to not get depressed in the first place, I'd recommend the following: Do exercise, do it outside if at all possible. Even light exercise like going for a walk is better than none. Don't take your phone. Turn off and shut away your electr…

> Get something to look after. A dog, or if you don't have time or space, a cat, or if you really don't have time or space a plant or two. As someone with two dogs and occasional bouts of mild depression, I would caution against getting a dog for this purpose. It's a lot of responsibility, and it helps some people with depression but hurts others. A plant is a much better idea. If it doesn't work out, just throw it a…

I don't know... I got a baby a year ago... the responsibility factor here trumps a dog by a factor of 10, but my baby has probably saved my life countless times this year.

My depression this year has been the worst ever - because of external factors like losing a good source of income, getting hired by an employer who then never paid, and some marital issues around faith/church (I left the church we belong to (Mormonism) because I no longer believe and am leaning Agnostic), and then celebrity(Chester Bennington)/external influences of people I know who died by suicide. Plus, I can't help feeling that death's around the corner and could happen any day. Watching 13 Reasons Why probably wasn't a great thing to do either in hindsight, though it was a pretty good series.

I've gone from one month making 7k to The point of the rant is... without my son, I think I probably would've done the unthinkable. There's also many times where I just felt crushed inside, and I didn't know what to do... but I'd go upstairs and just hold my son, and cry a bit, and it's hard to stay upset when you think of this kid and the life ahead for them, that they can do things better than you did and hopefully not make the same mistakes. Not to mention the cuteness/cuddles cheer you up a bit, I'm sure there's probably some endorphins being released even.

My dog died this year, but in the past holding/petting her helped some with depression too. Sometimes I will go a day or two without even going outside, and I find my mood also brightens if I just take out the trash or walk around the block.

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