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Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
1–10 of 152 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#2To see a doctor ?
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#3There are conventional things that you're going to get a lot of comments about. My conventional thing is running. The hacky part is the endorphins you get.[1] Other than the hack, you constantly set goals and achieve them, it makes you feel good about yourself. Micro goals like "I'll make it to the end of the street without stopping," and larger goals like "I'll run 5 miles today." Positive reinforcement during the run, large feeling of accomplishment after.
[1]https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression#1
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#4Learn to get out of your head.
Learn to observe thoughts instead of getting lost in them.
Recognize your brain is having a mood, not that you are that mood.
A lot of stuff from meditation/mindfulness can be quite helpful. There's a book called _The Zen Path through Depression_ that's kind of interesting.
I don't view it as a "fight" rather just a "thing". Depression is normal. Not fun, but normal.
Serious depression may require professional assistance. If whatever it is you're doing isn't working, get that assistance. Reach out to people. In general they care.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#5[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#6Hard outdoor physical labor where you are up before dawn, work flat out all day, and fall asleep exhausted shortly after dusk. Do this 7 days a week and you won't have time to be depressed.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#7To see a doctor ?
This is the only reasonable response in any thread on mental illness. Depression is too much of an important issue to not see a doctor, and unless we know OP's full history, any number of things could work or not work.
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#8I've seen SSRIs (Prozac etc) make a life changing difference for my daughter, my brother and my ex. But not my son. My 2p, etc...
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#9Hard outdoor physical labor where you are up before dawn, work flat out all day, and fall asleep exhausted shortly after dusk. Do this 7 days a week and you won't have time to be depressed.
Do you have personal experience doing this?
Re: Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?
#10For me:
Lift weights and perform intense physical activity to exhaustion.
Don’t smoke tobacco or cannabis. Don’t really drink either.
Meditation.
12-step work.
Wellbutrin (bupropion) has helped me out of holes.
Have close friends to confide in.
Say what you’re thinking. Don’t say what you’re not thinking.
Follow pointless dreams in some measure. For me, being able to buy a legendary Husaberg FE 570 motorcycle was an impossible dream, until I tried going for it. Managed to do it on a startup salary over the course of a year. It has brought me deep spiritual satisfaction.
Help others.
Be humble. Ask to be humble. Ask for your ego to be smashed.
Read books. Listen to music. Make music.