A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression • Hacker News Board

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#421

Post by nickthemagicman » Thu, May 28, 2020, 1:04 PM UTC

entee wrote: post #317

nickthemagicman wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there wasn't a lock down in Florida like you say and no hospitals were overwhelmed and no exponential explosion of cases happened.... Then that's all the evidence you need to know that flattening the curve was a myth and quarantine was an ineffective solution. (the same effect happened in Sweden by the way) I bet you based on these data points that every region that opens it's economy will have the same result. St…

That’s actually not what I said. I’m saying there were lockdowns in the most important regions (Miami-Dade for example), that people behaved as though there were lockdowns in at risk areas (nursing homes), and that people are still behaving with lockdown-style precautions. All of these things produced a flatter curve, and have also to a certain extent done so in Sweden where people followed many (not all) lockdown pr…

"it’s pretty clear lockdown behavior cuts infection spread."

It's not clear at all...as basic social distancing is appearing to have the exact same effect as lockdown.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#422

Post by nickthemagicman » Thu, May 28, 2020, 1:06 PM UTC

wbronitsky wrote: post #280

nickthemagicman wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only people with symptoms are being tested, and 80% of people are asymptomatic, how are we not drastically overestimating fatality rate?

Where do you see the data that 80% of people are asymptomatic? You complain elsewhere in this thread of being dismissed even when you have data, yet provide none. We understand that you think that the lockdowns are bunk and that this is a big non-issue cooked up by the world to ruin our lives; sure, maybe, but where is the data?

Here is a medical journal sufficient?

This is more study than was given to full lockdowns.

This was posted to Hacker News a few weeks ago as well.

https://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2020/05/27/thoraxjnl-20...

"We understand that you think that the lockdowns are bunk "

Correction...lockdowns ARE bunk.

WHERES THE SECOND WAVE?

Why hasn't Sweden followed the model of exponential explosion that was used to justify the lockdowns.

The flat curver movement was unscientific and wrong and you would do well to fight unscientific attacks on your civil freedoms with all of your vigour going forward because this isn't the last time this will be attempted.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#423

Post by ikeyany » Thu, May 28, 2020, 1:10 PM UTC

adaml_623 wrote: post #411

mjayhn wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people didn't think the guy in the white house could matter that much until Trump. As a non-American a lot of Americans would likely be envious of your lifestyle right now. The 30 million currently unemployed for sure, the people who also can't get to a hospital if they need surgery or healthcare because they're closed because of our botched (guy in wh) response care as well. The essential workers with no he…

I see your points and I don't understand those who disagree with you. 1. Your life is directly affected by the actions of those in power. 2. The future of your country is directly affected by the actions of those in power.

"I got mine, fuck everyone else".

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#424

Post by nickthemagicman » Thu, May 28, 2020, 1:27 PM UTC

wbronitsky wrote: post #280

nickthemagicman wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only people with symptoms are being tested, and 80% of people are asymptomatic, how are we not drastically overestimating fatality rate?

Where do you see the data that 80% of people are asymptomatic? You complain elsewhere in this thread of being dismissed even when you have data, yet provide none. We understand that you think that the lockdowns are bunk and that this is a big non-issue cooked up by the world to ruin our lives; sure, maybe, but where is the data?

Additionally, the only closed system study we've had of this, is a cruise ship. And this was replicated there. 80% asymptomatics.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/27/over-80percent-of-coronaviru...

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#425

Post by foob4r » Thu, May 28, 2020, 1:49 PM UTC

JPKab wrote: post #377

foob4r wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False optimism about the future from older generations is nothing new - been happening for years now

sorry but typically in the past older generations have been optimistic about the future and younger generations have been pessimistic. That is a a common phenomenon observed by social scientists which is that people in their twenties are a lot more pessimistic than people in their 40s and 50s. Let's be clear: globally the world is much better off than it has ever been and therefore the optimists were correct. Even in…

The different is that in the 90s, there was no clear evidence for pessimism about the future. The same is not true now.

Standard of living for most Americans is actually bad right now - trillions of student loan, no prospect of home ownership, no jobs, extreme income interest, weak authoritian governments,and let me know even start of climate change.

But hey, we have a new iPhone so I guess it's all fine.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#426

Post by particleandwave » Thu, May 28, 2020, 2:07 PM UTC

aszantu wrote: post #169

As a person with a history of depression and social anxiety I really do feel calmer since the crisis started, as if my state of mind was made for this kind of life. Less people on the streets, it's quieter, no one breathing down my neck in the supermarket, home office, no expectations on how to pick my clothes, how to behave, no trying to hide the weird stuff I eat (carnivore, high meat, raw, cooked and aged whatever…

Sadly, I experienced the opposite. I also have a history of depression and panic disorders (not social, however), and I was getting better before the quarantine. When the quarantine struck about a week after I started feeling hopelessness as if I have no control in life anymore. Like things, bad things will happen to me, and I will not be able to cope with it.

Then memories over past mistakes took over, and I started obsessing on every little bad thing I've ever done. As time went by these thoughts filled my head for the most of the day, and because of quarantine restrictions, I wasn't able to do much to shake them off. Anybody else experienced something similar?

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#427

Post by particleandwave » Thu, May 28, 2020, 2:12 PM UTC

The quarantine made my depression and anxiety disorder much worse. About two weeks into quarantine, I started feeling paralysing sorrow about everything that ever happened to me, and the view of the future became grim.

I guess the time alone made me confront my problems in a way I couldn't handle, so I resumed my psychotherapy and went back on anti-depressants. I still haven't figured out the way to get out of this only-bad-thoughts loop. Morning Yoga helps a bit, and sports, in general, seem to take the stress away, though not for long. Maybe someone can share their experiences coping with that?

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#428

Post by asdfasdfasdfa » Thu, May 28, 2020, 2:34 PM UTC

idoby wrote: post #263

JSavageOne wrote: post #131

As an American it's not surprising at all. Six figures of student loan debt, job insecurity, healthcare insecurity, rampant poverty / homelessness, the most despicable president to disgrace the white house (who didn't even win the popular vote), stay-at-home orders because the U.S. couldn't manage the crisis, lack of community (doesn't help that 99% of the country is sprawl), rampant obesity, and general lack of hope…

As a non-American, why do you care about who is in the white house so much? How does it affect your life concretely? Try watching less talking heads/browsing Twitter less, maybe, and you'll feel better?

The only two Republican presidents in my adult life have both been directly associated with mass death and economic collapse. That's why I care.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#429

Post by whiddershins » Thu, May 28, 2020, 2:37 PM UTC

pstuart wrote: post #379

whiddershins wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might encourage you to reconsider the reality tunnel you are subscribing to. Not because it is false, but because it is opinion-based, and interpretive, and reliant on certain assumptions. If it is making you miserable, it might be worth exploring a different, equally compelling, version of reality.

I'm always welcome to new input, but the two cases I cited have compelling facts behind them. Being that I'm not thrilled to carry these notions, I'd be more than happy to have my mind "changed". Go for it: change my mind. I'm not spoiling for a fight -- I genuinely don't like being "wrong."

I am not in the mind changing business, and I say that from humility. I wish I was, but I’m just not that great at it.

My life has gotten a million times better from listening to and reading stuff specifically from Scott Adams, and Jordan Peterson. Adams for reshaping the reality tunnel and Peterson for getting me to focus on what I can control.

For what you’re saying, Scott Adams kinda saved my sanity.

After the 2016 election I was having a nervous breakdown. I couldn’t understand what the hell happened. I was depressed and freaking out.

I started googling and found out that Peter Thiel and Scott Adams supported Trump. This blew my mind, because Thiel seems fairly bright, and Adams I figured must not be completely stupid because he wrote a successful comic strip, which is harder than you might think.

I read a few Adams blog posts, one of them called ‘deprogramming a Clinton supporter’ or something. It was like reading some crazy alternate reality and it made me angry. How could he be saying I was brainwashed!!

I kept an open mind though, because he made a good point, that the law of large numbers dictate that if 50 million people disagree with me, statistically at least one of them must be smarter, more knowledgeable, and more moral than I am.

But they could still be wrong.

However, over time, I started to see his position, about how it is indisputable that we cannot perceive reality directly, that we each filter it. This is fact.

Then he goes on to show that if what you have is a filter, you should evaluate the filter for two criteria: how well it predicts the future (accuracy) and how happy it makes you.

Over time I started to see how the facts for what you are saying aren’t fully in evidence. Or rather, there are some contradictory observations, that are worth examining.

I can’t do justice to the ideas of the people I am referencing. I am concerned that even by typing them here I am doing more harm than good, because my paraphrasing may make you reject them without investigation.

All I can say is I think it is worth it to look for a variety of viewpoints, and if you give those two a try, it could reshape your relationship to world events in a positive way so you can feel confident you are contributing to making the world better, rather than powerlessly suffering under tragedy.

Re: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

#430

Post by avgDev » Thu, May 28, 2020, 2:59 PM UTC

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #157

nmfisher wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I find this comment utterly mind boggling. The US's stay at home orders were issued when? Mid to end of March? That makes it what? About 1 month? Are we supposed to believe that "young people" suddenly get into a tail spin because they have to endure a whole month of not finding a partner, get to know each other, make life plans, and get pregnant? No, but millions have lost their jobs due to the shutdown, and it's…

I know that the whole "have kids" thing, which we were thinking about, has basically been totally shut down. Nope, this is craziness, time to just survive for the next few years.

We had a baby in May, it was a bit uncomfortable being in the hospital but it everyone is healthy. I'm in Illinois and I am grateful our governor ordered stay at home. We were worried about over crowding at hospitals.

But yeah....I don't think anyone would willingly have a baby right now.