The Depression Thing • Hacker News Board

Re: The Depression Thing

#11

Post by gblain23 » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:07 PM UTC

Cutting gluten out of my life basically "cured" my depression, which sounds crazy, since it is just something I'm eating...

I'm not allergic, but probably intolerant. I ate wheat for most of my life. I'm pretty sure it is related to inflammation, and how eating wheat products probably screwed my digestion up. I also rarely get sick anymore.

Not trying to suggest that medicine, therapy, etc. does or does not work, just that there may be some other things that people can consider and experiment with.

Re: The Depression Thing

#12

Post by Domenic_S » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

sf_rob wrote: post #6

fintler wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It currently feels like we're stuck in the stone-age when it comes to treating depression and mental illness in general with drugs. Things do seem to be improving however. For example, second generation antipsychotics like aripiprazole seem to be a significant leap.

From my experience, we're in the stone age when it comes to treating depression without drugs as well. I reached out to my PCP at my HMO, they made me talk to a specialist who cleared me for treatment and referred me back to my PCP. My PCP seemed skeptical that anything was wrong and went against the recommendation that I had been given by the specialist office by strongly recommending that I don't try anti-depressan…

> I absolutely hate therapy (socially anxious and bad at discussing emotions). I'd like to try a cognitive behavioral therapist instead

Respectfully, please don't give up. Continuing to go to your therapist would be exposure therapy for your social anxiety, which _is_ a form of CBT. Maybe just switching therapists will work for you.

Re: The Depression Thing

#13

Post by hndl » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

hndl wrote: post #8

The solution is that every one of you listen to a friend who is in need and empathize and say, yeah -- i'm here. Kudos to Zach for opening up about this. I'm going through a similar shit show and I'm hoping that folks who grok it stick close and the others just sway with.

REMINDER: we're talking about something sensitive here.

Re: The Depression Thing

#14

Post by cbau » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

Ignoring the content for a moment, I really liked how the background color changes with the mood of the content. I don't think I've seen that before, but it's refreshing from the wall of black text on white backgrounds which sometimes scare me away.

Really enjoyed the post though. I think a lot articles which give advice without personal experience don't ever really resonate. This one actually makes me feel hopeful.

Re: The Depression Thing

#15

Post by ElatedOwl » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

I was diagnosed with "major depression" when I was 14, did the medication and therapy thing for a bit but the medication made me a zombie. Therapy helped me learn to cope a little better, but I was never "cured" of my depression.

My 20s have been pretty bad, but in the last year and a half I've lost 100+lbs and have been running and lifting.

It turns out the common sense advice to depression was really what I needed all along.

* Sleep * Proper diet * Exercise

If you're struggling with depression like I was - try and take baby steps to improving those 3. You don't have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be all at once, but through continued effort it has only gotten better and better for me.

Re: The Depression Thing

#16

Post by cbau » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

gblain23 wrote: post #11

Cutting gluten out of my life basically "cured" my depression, which sounds crazy, since it is just something I'm eating... I'm not allergic, but probably intolerant. I ate wheat for most of my life. I'm pretty sure it is related to inflammation, and how eating wheat products probably screwed my digestion up. I also rarely get sick anymore. Not trying to suggest that medicine, therapy, etc. does or does not work, jus…

Did you ever feel like gluten was affecting you? Or was this a random change you made that happened to have a noticeable effect?

Re: The Depression Thing

#17

Post by ada1981 » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

ElatedOwl wrote: post #15

I was diagnosed with "major depression" when I was 14, did the medication and therapy thing for a bit but the medication made me a zombie. Therapy helped me learn to cope a little better, but I was never "cured" of my depression. My 20s have been pretty bad, but in the last year and a half I've lost 100+lbs and have been running and lifting. It turns out the common sense advice to depression was really what I needed…

Have you tried regular voulentering, Gratitude letter writing, Holotropic breathwork or psychedelic therapy?

I found those to be the most useful.

Re: The Depression Thing

#18

Post by jetti » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

fintler wrote: post #5

dogruck wrote: post #2

My view is that depression is a treatable medical illness. I've never been depressed, but I've lost friends to depression. Edit: to the down voters, I'm not implying it's any easier than, say, beating cancer.

It currently feels like we're stuck in the stone-age when it comes to treating depression and mental illness in general with drugs. Things do seem to be improving however. For example, second generation antipsychotics like aripiprazole seem to be a significant leap.

I'm waiting for the day that anti-psychotics and some SSRIs don't cause extreme fatigue. I have ended up using my drugs as spot therapy rather than continuous. It isn't necessarily safe but at least I can somewhat function during the day. Otherwise I become almost completely useless and is even with adding Adderall to keep me up. I fall asleep at my desk and only want to sleep when I get home. It gets to the point where the symptoms are better than the side effects, which is scary considering my symptoms are violent in nature.

Re: The Depression Thing

#19

Post by Domenic_S » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:11 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #10

kyberias wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there legitimate other views of depression?

Some psychologists reject any hint of medical modal, and say it's only social factors. (that's not what I think. But these psychologists are reasonably common.)

Ok, citation needed on that one. Some crackpots think that way, sure, but "reasonably common"?

Re: The Depression Thing

#20

Post by Mz » Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

Some of the best ways to deal with depression:

1) Address any known health issues you have.

2) Dietary changes. There are studies on this.

3) Problem solve. If you are depressed because of terrible personal issues, work on resolving them. (The article mentions that a run won't pay his bill or fix other problems. Overwhelming problems are a legitimate cause of depression.)

4) If you are suicidal, seek company. If you know someone suicidal, spend time with them.

You do not necessarily have to talk about their suicidal ideation or the problems causing it. You can play games together, have lunch, be pleasant. Suicides generally occur alone. Just physically being there goes a long way towards preventing suicide.

If you do want to help them, help them fix problems. Feelings come from somewhere. Just massaging emotions does not work. Do not "help" them by preaching at them ("Just go for a run!").