Great piece. Be happy on your own terms, not ycombinators and startup marketing siren songs. The smartest among us are often the most vulnerable.
One Road Out of Depression
111–120 of 165 posts
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#112There's lots of good advice here already - let me add one, for the supplement lovers: Find a good probiotic and run with it for a few months. You might feel some benefits for mood after only a couple days. I've tried a lot of supplements in the last few years (any kind of vitamin, and some broadest-band multivitamins, even methylation stuff like Methyl-B12, Folate, active B6) - but the only ones that really made an i…
It looks like Mutaflor isn't available outside Canada.
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#113Author here. Thanks for all the comments, I'm surprised to see so much interest here on Hacker News. I figured this would be one of my posts that collected dust. For the record, my way out of this happened to be psychological, but that doesn't mean I'm against medication. It just didn't happen to be my experience, so I can't comment on it. I try to avoid topics I don't know anything about.
I enjoyed your post, great and very real writing. Thank you for publishing.
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know what I was on the scale, but at some point the only thing keeping me aluve was the fear of inflicting a traumatic experience on my 8 years younger sister. Making an 8 year old discover her dead brother would be just a shitty thing to do. The obly thing that finally helped, even after meds (I think) didn't do much, was a very solid "Fuck this, I don't want this anymore" and willing myself out of it by for…
In a way, I think your doctor was correct. The meds change the way you see life - supposedly - even if you didn't actually feel better. My unprofessional opinion is that LSD and other hallucinogens function about the same way - gets you out of your mindset enough so that your perspective is different when you get back in.
The meds[1] I had supposedly weren't made to change how you see life, but to numb your emotional response. You lose the ability to feel bad, but you also lose the ability to feel good. Debatable whether that's better or worse, really.
Fundamentally, I did have the meds and I did get better. Without a control, I can't say whether I got better because of the drugs, in spite of the drugs, or they had no effect. Considering they're approved meds, I can assume that statistically they work better than a placebo and do have a measurable effect. Whether they had causative effect my specific case is anyone's guess.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_serotonin_reuptake_i...
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. At this point, I use meditation, exercise, omega 3 supplementation, and therapy all in addition to the mental attitudes I discussed.
I've an odd question for you: How did you wind up sticking with meditation? What made you notice that it helped and how long did that take? I generally quit after 2-3 months. At first it is kind of nice, but as time goes, I become a bit frustrated and bored. I don't notice a difference in myself, and I always wonder if it isn't just that I don't know what I should be looking for. I'm mostly asking to get your persona…
I'm careful about suggesting meditation to my friends because I think it's different for everybody.
For me, I've always had high anxiety. OCD is essentially anxiety when you boil it down to its core. That means I carry around a great deal of stress, sometimes to the point where I can feel it in my stomach all day every day.
3-5 days of meditation makes this feeling go away. I've seen studies that show your cortisol drops after 3-5 days of doing it for 20-30 mins a day.
So to answer your question: I notice it a lot when I stop. I still fall off on the habit periodically, but I see the benefits shortly after I start again.
Some of the benefits for me: * Less Stress. * I make better eye contact with people because I'm not anxiously looking away. * I listen to my employees (and everyone) better because I'm not so tempted to interrupt them when they're speaking. * My body feels better - any pain or injuries I have get better. * My focus during the workday is dramatically improved. I don't get distracted nearly as easily.
But for someone who has less natural anxiety, I can imagine not having as many benefits. So use the classic test: if it helps you, keep doing it. If you don't see any benefit, then don't bother. Don't do it just because you think you ::should::.
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#116Nutrition for me has been a big one. I've only very gradually realised the enormous impact my diet has had on my mood and cognition in general. Sure, I've heard a million times before that a good diet, sleep[1], and exercise[2] have a great impact on one's mood and brain function. And if I was ever challenged on it, I would have said that I believed it. But I never acted like I believed in it, until I actually starte…
Some other things that I've found helpful:
I try not to put too much stock on external measures of "success". I try to find my own way and do things that are meaningful and fulfilling to me, rather than chase things that others say that I should have.
Perhaps because of that I haven't achieved many things that are considered by others to be desirable. On the other hand, I'm much more at peace for not having achieved them, and more satisfied at having achieved other things that are important to me, whether or not others consider them valuable.
For example, I'd generally rather have health and peace of mind than money. I recognize that many people with a lot of money are miserable, and I try to be content when my modest needs are satisfied.
In general, I try to be satisfied with what I have rather than lust after things that are far out of my reach. I try to detach, and am attracted to paths that lead towards detachment.
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#117There's lots of good advice here already - let me add one, for the supplement lovers: Find a good probiotic and run with it for a few months. You might feel some benefits for mood after only a couple days. I've tried a lot of supplements in the last few years (any kind of vitamin, and some broadest-band multivitamins, even methylation stuff like Methyl-B12, Folate, active B6) - but the only ones that really made an i…
It looks like Mutaflor isn't available outside Canada.
Or Europe, in my case (mainly in Germany.. it was actually prescribed to Hitler, so long has it been around). The FDA banned it, I'm reading right now. That sucks.
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think depression is a beast with many intersecting roads. The chemical imbalance seems like it could be more the result of something than the root cause.
I'm just one person, but it really doesn't seem like that to me. There was no awful situation or experience that brought on my depression or continues to make me depressed. I call that situational depression. You aren't clinically depressed. You're just feeling really crappy because your situation is really crappy. Remove the crappy situation or improve it in some meaningful way and the depression goes away too. With…
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Re: One Road Out of Depression
#119Well, I mean, it's too late for many. A lot of folks are only a few years away from a heart attack and have nothing to live for. You've let down everyone and your dreams haven't come true.
Are you my mind?
Re: One Road Out of Depression
#120Trying to work on a startup when your emotional gas tank is on empty is basically a cruel paradox. Doing anything productive is virtually impossible when you're consumed with self-hatred.
By the same token, starting a startup because you have nothing to lose is generally a terrible idea, because the aforementioned tank is already empty before you even begin. Road trips seldom succeed when you have to push the entire way.
While the author didn't make the latter mistake per se, his situation sounds more akin to having embarked upon a road trip with a single tank of gas, and no gas stations along the route.