I don't know if you are the kind of person who likes to Google research about such issues relating to themselves, but if so, a term to Google for this is anhedonia.
Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
51–60 of 91 posts
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#52No post body was provided.
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#53Many ordinary people live their lives without great passions and interests. That’s absolutely ok. Not everybody is Feynman, Zornader, Da Vinci or… yes… Hitler. There is no Mein Kampf for everybody.
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
What cures are there for depression other than 1. anti-depressants 2. therapy / exercise / diet changes 3. a perspective change 4. ignoring it
Do you have access to cold water. sea lake, bath with ice? Get in on a regular basis (with necessary precautions)! Access to a sauna? Get in on a regular basis. Engage in regular exercise, cardio is great. Don't feel like it? Do it anyway, treat it like it's meds because in a very real sense it is. Get your diet in order. Sugar is the devil! Get your sleep in order. Try and get to sleep before midnight and when you w…
Favorite-worthy comment, thanks! I've certainly had success with some of these and would like to add more to my routine. (I've found it that having a stable, healthy daily routine helps a lot by itself. Getting used to actually getting up and making coffee immediately after I wake up has made a surprisingly large difference to my mornings)
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
What cures are there for depression other than 1. anti-depressants 2. therapy / exercise / diet changes 3. a perspective change 4. ignoring it
I read an article about gardening being a great source of anti depression. Not only the activity, but also the bacterias in the soil, which we are deprived of in our modern society with it's hygiene and antibiotics. These bacterias lived with us for a very long time (thousands of years) and just recently we started to kill them in us. Additionally there are connections between the gut microbiome and the brain which a…
I'm very glad you are feeling better, but it's important for others to be aware that this is pseudoscience.
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#56Have you tried talking to a therapist about this?
It is very hard to give advice for an individual based on so little information. A good therapist will try to track down a possible source of the problems, or give tools to handle the situation.
Perhaps one source of frustration might be an overly rational approach to joy? Have you considered alternatives, such as religion, or certain strands of philosophy? In the grand scheme of things, it's not so clear cut that rationalism is the best approach to finding meaning in life.
Another option might be that you value something (curiosity) highly, but don't act towards developing it? Perhaps if you invest some time in a random subject (e.g. one of music, events, chess) you will learn new things and get rewarded for that, either internally or socially. That might spark some joy!
Good luck, you're not the only one who's had to struggle with this.
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
What cures are there for depression other than 1. anti-depressants 2. therapy / exercise / diet changes 3. a perspective change 4. ignoring it
Do you have access to cold water. sea lake, bath with ice? Get in on a regular basis (with necessary precautions)! Access to a sauna? Get in on a regular basis. Engage in regular exercise, cardio is great. Don't feel like it? Do it anyway, treat it like it's meds because in a very real sense it is. Get your diet in order. Sugar is the devil! Get your sleep in order. Try and get to sleep before midnight and when you w…
> Engage in regular exercise, cardio is great. Don't feel like it? Do it anyway, treat it like it's meds because in a very real sense it is.
This is not necessarily good advice, overtraining is a thing and actually causes depressed mood. Check heart rate variability to make sure you are rested enough to exercise.
People with depression should really try to keep inflammation low, and preventing overtraining is an important part of that.
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#58Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#59In my very non-professional opinion, that sounds like depression. I'm pulling on personal experience here. I've felt very similarly. I take medication and see a therapist now. I also don't experience these feelings any more. I don't know if I solved a problem or grew out of a phase. To answer your question, though: I found a friendly community of people that held a similar worldview to me.
Exactly my first thought.
“The core symptom of depression is said to be anhedonia, which refers to loss of interest or a loss of feeling of pleasure in certain activities that usually bring joy to people.”
Re: Ask HN: How did you find joy in life?
#60For me it's basically what Michael Keaton's character in bird man covers.
Live so that your trying to impress yourself, not others. If you live to impress others 2 things result, 1 - they become gatekeepers to your happiness and 2 - you end up being surrounded by people that aren't your people. If you live to impress yourself at first you may seem alone but over time others that like what your doing, like you for you will gather around you and those are your people,