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Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#61

Post by rphlx »

Devilboy wrote: post #46
Alex3917 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"That doesn't mean that there's no such thing as a chemical imbalance that can be improved with drugs." While it's not theoretically impossible that depression is caused by a neurotransmitter imbalance, most of the evidence is against it and most researchers now reject the hypothesis. Wikipedia has a nice summary of the current consensus on the serotonin imbalance hypothesis.

But antidepressants do work for some people, even if we don't understand the precise mechanism. I agree that the 'chemical imbalance' theory is probably wrong and certainly oversimplified but for some individuals life is significantly better with antidepressants than without. Drugs can help.

Treating/masking the symptom != resolving root cause.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#62

Post by rphlx »

niels_olson wrote: post #43

doc here. Seems like this is the most common issue on Hacker News. I suspect there is a common thread, something along the lines of negative thinkers are the people who identify problems and strive to solve them, but such a personality is at perpetual risk of decompensating toward depression. I think Andy Thompson's theory makes a ton of sense for most depressives in this community http://andersonthomson.com/wp-conte…

Unfortunately I think you may be right. To build a very high quality system, you need to be adept at identifying every major and minor flaw, actual and potential. Happy people often seem unable to do this rigorously. "My code is great! The sky is so blue today! I love my awesome wife! That SIGSEGV was just a hardware problem!"

People rationalize to maintain their preferred emotional state. Thus, to find problems thoroughly, it helps to think the whole system is thoroughly fucked.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#63

Post by ja27 »

I've had similar stuff, including massive panic attacks / anxiety, especially in graduate school. I learned to deal with it through diet, exercise, but mostly by getting outside and getting more sunlight. If your climate / weather allows for it, go take a sick day, pack a lunch, and go spend at least half the day in some sunny park or beach.

I also find it helps to write out all the thoughts in your head. If I don't do this, I feel like my brain is stuck in a loop, always coming right back to whatever major issue I'm having. Getting that issue down on paper somehow lets my brain move on and really think about some other things for a while.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#64

Post by Devilboy »

rphlx wrote: post #61
Devilboy wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But antidepressants do work for some people, even if we don't understand the precise mechanism. I agree that the 'chemical imbalance' theory is probably wrong and certainly oversimplified but for some individuals life is significantly better with antidepressants than without. Drugs can help.

Treating/masking the symptom != resolving root cause.

The trouble is we don't really know the root cause of major depression. We know a little bit - e.g. it's partly genetic - but we usually can't 'resolve the root cause'. Treating the symptoms is not pointless.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#65

Post by drhodes »

My rule is really simple: As long as there are people who are alive who care about me, then I may not kill myself. People are anchors for each other, whether they are vocal about this or not. The profound, irreversible, emotional collateral damage is not justifiable, and that's all there is to it.

Since I have family and friends who are younger than me, it's likely my rule will be in effect until die from natural causes. QED.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#66

Post by Alex3917 »

danbmil99 wrote: post #60
Alex3917 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If there's a chemical imbalance, drugs can help." Medical statistics seem to show otherwise. For people who undergo a first bout of depression, most people who don't medicate get better in 6-18 months and then never relapse. Whereas those who medicate have a much higher chance of relapsing multiple times later in life. source: Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker.

pls cut the crap. Do not post opinions as facts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder#Antid...

"pls cut the crap. Do not post opinions as facts."

I cited a book that references hundreds of academic studies. You cited six paragraphs of a wikipedia article, which doesn't even cover any of the real issues/questions. Are you fucking kidding me?

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#67

Post by Alex3917 »

modality wrote: post #19
BobbyH wrote: post #9

What you're talking about is called suicidal ideation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicidal_ideation . (Google those keywords to learn more.) I have dealt with this issue for 20 years. The first 10 years, I thought I was going to die. But I've learned to lower my suicidal ideation levels tremendously by trial and error. It was reassuring for me to learn from a psychologist friend that (A) suicidal ideation is the "l…

> Stop drinking if you lose control of yourself while drunk, especially if you're a sad drunk. Or at least limit the number of drinks you consume. Coming from someone who struggles with anxiety and paranoia, the first thing I was told when I went to the psychiatrist was to quit drinking. I am by no means an alcoholic, but I used to go out probably twice a week and I'd also have a beer after work to unwind. The result…

"he results were like night and day. All I had to do was not drink during the week and go out less."

Smoking marijuana arguably leads to a 10% increased risk of developing psychosis. Whereas drinking alcohol raises your risk of developing psychosis by 800%. The public school drug propaganda programs always talk about the risks of drunk driving and liver damage, all while being completely silent about the biggest risk of all.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_effects_of_alcohol

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#68

Post by anonymator »

mindcrime wrote: post #58
anonymator wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2008 I attempted suicide. I have dealt with suicidal ideation off & on since I was around 7 years old. My brother committed suicide, and mental illness (including depression) runs in my family. I'm not crazy though, I swear :-) I've read a number of people say things like, "It's completely normal. You just have to deal with it like everyone else." That's wrong, and really, really dangerous advice. Suicidal ideatio…

I've read a number of people say things like, "It's completely normal. You just have to deal with it like everyone else." That's wrong, and really, really dangerous advice. Suicidal ideation is very different from feeling 'blue' every now and then. Suicidal ideation is an indication of something more serious, and if left unchecked can get much worse (did you read my opening line?). Not everyone can get out of depress…

Originally my comment was in reply to yours because I was going to build on your third point, controlling your thoughts. I ended up talking about a few other things, though, so I can see why some of my comments where unclear.

The comment about 'just dealing with it' wasn't directed towards you.

The comment about seeing a doctor was meant for the OP.

Perhaps I should have commented on the original post and not in reply to your comment.

SAM is S-Adenosyl Methionine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-Adenosyl_methionine#Polyamine...). "SAM is required for cellular growth and repair. It is also involved in the biosynthesis of several hormones and neurotransmitters that affect mood, such as dopamine and serotonin."

I tried 5-HTP for a short while and felt like I had a very slight improvement in mood. I was quite depressed at the time though, so I doubt a dietary supplement would have cut it anyway.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with suicidal thoughts ?

#69

Post by zavulon »

Here is what worked for me.

At some point (a long long time ago), I came pretty close, and one day I wrote a long, very thorough explanation of what exactly was wrong and why I was going to do it.

After finishing it, I read it with a critical eye and imagined people finding it after I do it. I put myself in their shoes and saw right away - those reasons are NOT got enough. Pretty much everyone who'd see it would think "Wow, that guy was a fucking pussy for offing himself like that." I saw that my problems were not THAT serious, and totally not worth doing it.

Immediately, I felt much better, and started writing a concrete plan to solve my issues. Some of those problems are still present in my life, and occasionally I do feel depressed about them, but since then, overall my life has been a thousand times better, and I've never seriously considering doing it, nor do I think I will ever.

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