Meditation has helped me.
Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
21–28 of 28 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#22Partly depression is because of the kinds of thoughts you have,and partly its your brain and body chemistry. Lately (for me anyway) its also partly due to the city I chose to live in.
Do what we geeks are good at.make a list and start fixing things. If you are suicidal go see a doctor right away and get some drugs.if you can't/won't do that, do some research on st.johns wort and 5-htp. If used properly these can be as effective or more effective than drugs.
See a psychologist.you don't need a doctors referral and if you have a job it will at least partially be paid for. Shyness, anxiety and depression are 3 different things. Even in perfect health its not likely you'd be able to address these things on your own. You need help.
The old cliche is true - exercise,it releases natural happy drugs. Research vitamin d. 500-1000 mg per day will do wonders for your health,and your mental well being.even if you live somewhere sunny you are vitamin d deficient.
Eat well,although I'm not really convinced this actually makes a big difference (its all too easy to feel like crap and build vitamin or mineral deficiencies when you are trying to eat healthy).
Stop drinking. Just do it. Alcohol messes with your body and brain. Im not saying that nobody should drink, but if you are depressed, there are many ways alcohol is making it worse, and continuing to drink will prevent you from getting better.
Seek out people like you to be around.don't try to hang out at bars or the mall,if that's not who you are. Assuming you are a typical hn`er,see if your city has a maker space and go build stuff.or spend a few hours at a co working space (great because you can work on a project, around other people, and have as little or as much social interaction as you like). Go to startup meet ups even if you don't have a startup.volunteer at you local computer recycler, they often rebuild PCs for underprivileged people.
A lot of stuff here and piles more. Like life,its a journey. Honestly I think that most people are not happy most of the time. You and I have an advantage, we want to get better.
FYI.I'm doing all of these things except for the doctor (don't want drugs) and meeting people like me. I moved to a city where there are very few people like me. Fixing that soon. In small bits and pieces, its getting better,but its a many year process.
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#23Hi. Firstly, it sounds like you have manic depression (extreme highs and extreme lows), however I am not a doctor, so please talk to someone about how you're feeling so they can make a diagnosis. Secondly, no matter how alone you may feel right now, please remember that this is only temporary. Over time you will meet like-minded souls who will become your friends, but they key is in finding them. I have lived oversea…
Yes, I've been trying to do it, volunteering especially. But wherever I go, I get "outed" as a "techie" (my skills are laughable compared to the HN crowd, but apparently still good enough for non tech people) - after that, people only talk to me when they need help with computers. It's my fault being shy, not theirs. About the part of being loved, I doubt that seriously.
Don't even try to hang out with normals. Hang out with the Hn crowd and be a noob.
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#24First off, good on you for sharing your feelings, it's very hard for many. Look it is your life, as much as people will say exercise, take anti-depressants, see a doctor, etc... remember that you have control of your own life and should live it how you want. You don't have to work at a boring job or be in a horrible city with nobody you know. Go somewhere where you will be happy; work somewhere where you will be happ…
>Go somewhere where you will be happy
So amazingly important. Read who's your city by Richard Florida.
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#25I have been in a similar situation to you. In my case the depression was so bad I simply HAD to do something about it, and it involved significant changes to my lifestyle (changing job, moving away from the city, etc). My wife also went through depression recently, and has recovered through CBT (with an excellent therapist) and anti-depressants. I'm not really a fan of anti-depressants myself as they are mostly (or a…
re Mindgym: can you post a link? The closest I could find was http://www.themindgym.com/ but there is a huge amount of cotent there.
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#26I have been in a similar situation to you. In my case the depression was so bad I simply HAD to do something about it, and it involved significant changes to my lifestyle (changing job, moving away from the city, etc). My wife also went through depression recently, and has recovered through CBT (with an excellent therapist) and anti-depressants. I'm not really a fan of anti-depressants myself as they are mostly (or a…
re Mindgym: can you post a link? The closest I could find was http://www.themindgym.com/ but there is a huge amount of cotent there.
Oops, I meant moodgym. www.moodgym.anu.edu.au.
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#27these are some ways i killed depression
http://kyleschen.com/2012/09/14/the-21-laws-of-annihilating-...
Re: Ask HN: How do you fight depression?
#28I'm sorry you're going through this and I'm joining the chorus of other commenters who empathize with your pain. You've got to seek some help--other than that, here are little things that have helped me:
-blogging (or journaling, if you want to start facing your own thoughts on a micro-level first. both are great.) -read a classic work of literature, read the sparknotes, read the criticisms of the work, decide how you feel about it. relating to themes in literature and philosophy help me deal with the absurdity of real life. -find a cause to support. activism helped me find some motivation and conviction for something outside of my work. -change your space. sell all your stuff and buy some new stuff. changing a rug or rearranging a floor plan can make me feel like I'm somewhere else.
xx