Ask HN: What are the best hacks to fight depression?

Especially in more severe cases, attempting to deal with it yourself is dangerous. Think about it: depression often creates a lack of motivation and a feeling of not being in control. If you try something and it fails, then what? Then you blame yourself for failing, you feel even less motivated and even less in control, and you're possibly worse off then when you started. (Not to mention: you learn the wrong lesson about failure.)

IMHO, the very premise that you can "hack" around depression is flawed. If you tore your rotator cuff, came down with a serious fever, or broke a bone, would you try to "hack" around it? I doubt it, unless you're out in the wilderness and days from care - and at that, you'd likely seek proper care when you get back to civilization. Mental health is no different; we just have a societal problem treating it with the same seriousness and urgency. Many people struggling with mental health issues need an external reference point along with expert advice / supervision. A good support network of friends / family provides the former. Ideally, doctors provide both; they at least provide the latter, if they're at all half-decent.

Now, it's not at all the same thing, but: I struggled with anxiety - like, full-on debilitating panic attacks - for years, trying to "hack" around it. It would get better, then I'd relapse. In the end, I finally swallowed my pride, went to a doctor, and followed their advice. If I'd done that years ago, I'd have measurably improved my quality of life for years. Now, I'm just happy I didn't wait longer. Yes, I had some measure of success in "hacking" around my mental health issues, and yes, I was probably better off than if I did nothing. That said, why would you not just use the best tools available?

It's like choosing to write your own text editor from scratch just to code - you can do it, and you'll maybe even learn something, and there's a remote chance that you'll create a better tool than was previously available. Most likely, however, you'll spend years going in circles for no particularly good reason. That's why you seek help: not because you absolutely can't do anything about it yourself, but because, quite honestly, life is too short to waste.

Now, once you regain a measure of control - possibly with the help of therapy, SSRIs, etc. - you're in a position to start talking about "how do I help myself manage this?" Here, however, you're not "hacking" around anything: you're applying well-tested methods (exercise regimens, proper sleep, relaxation / meditation techniques, etc.), possibly in conjunction with SSRIs or therapy, to slowly but surely rebuild your sense of control and agency.

Perhaps in 10 or 20 years, we'll better understand neurobiology and have much better tools to help with mental health issues. Right now, this is what we have.