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Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

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Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#61

Post by PascLeRasc »

User23 wrote: post #55
CamperBob2 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One suggestion: lobby your representatives to put a stop to this insane time-changing business, which is basically engineered to engender the symptoms people are reporting in this thread.

The time change has no effect on total daylight hours. Nothing is stopping anyone from continuing to get up at the same real time if they want to have the same amount of daylight.

I used to really enjoy taking a long walk after work to get some sunlight in. Now by the time we're allowed to stop sitting at our desks the sun has already set.

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#62

Post by vegadw »

I just went though what might be covid. I'm 22 and have a prior heart condition, and all week I felt like someoned had taken a baseball bat to my chest and was very tired. What was I doing during this time? Dealing with crammed in homework for 4 high level engineering classes that didn't keep up with the shortened length of this semester well. I think not experiencing dread and depressive symptoms in my situation would be weird.

Universities and Colleges right now are pretending to be accommodating, but the stress on students is outright dangerous right now.

Oh, and the cherry on top? My university is going to have a football game on campus the same day as many of us are taking on-campus finals. Brilliant.

So, I'm both depressed and pissed off. Running on fumes of rage? Motivated by the existential dread of my impending student loans for a semester of education worse that I could have gotten off of YouTube? I don't know man. I just want to not feel like death and have time (and the ability) to breathe.

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#63

Post by PascLeRasc »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #47
throwaway9980 wrote: post #42

I draw my strength from the yellow sun. Over the last two weeks my home has tilted ever farther from it. I feel the familiar ebbing of the light. I’ve gotten better at mitigating it over the years. Vitamin D supplementation, light box therapy every morning, and near daily exercise is key. Getting the routine dialed in before mid-November is crucial.

One suggestion: lobby your representatives to put a stop to this insane time-changing business, which is basically engineered to engender the symptoms people are reporting in this thread.

I've been thinking about this the past few days. I am not being sarcastic here - I believe we need an immediate executive order to roll back the daylight savings time. It is two miniature public health crises, for both vitamin D absorption to mitigate covid as well as mental health. It is going to kill people.

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#66

Post by LordHumungous »

danielvaughn wrote: post #22

I don't felt the need to see a doctor about what I'm experiencing, so I'm not sure if what I have qualifies as depression. But over the past several months, it feels like my entire personality and being is a rug that has been pulled out from underneath me. I'm no longer the driven and interested person that I used to be. I struggle to sit down and work - my brain feels scattered and no matter how much I sleep and res…

You are describing my life

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#67

Post by 2TangerineDream »

We are collectively going through the equalivalent to PTSD. We may not have been through a war. Witnessed death. We have though seen the effects of what isolation, lack of touch, loss person to person interaction leads to. Its depression. Plain and simple. Our minds are designed so that we are effected by our environment. We have collectively been feeling anxiety. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. And so it's 'normal' that we are all depressed. And surprisingly as someone who is naturely optimistic feeling this way is alien. And admitedly a strange thing.

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#68

Post by [deleted] »

young_unixer wrote: post #8

I've never felt like life has no joy in it, I'm highly motivated to achieve my goals and I think they're worthwhile goals. The thing is, I think I won't achieve those goals, and that makes me anxious, not medically anxious, but there's this constant felling of dread. So, I wouldn't say I'm depressed, but I have this constant dread that accompanies me everyday.

[deleted]

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#69

Post by aboringusername »

dang wrote: post #58

Now there are two depression threads on the front page. We usually don't allow that (I mean same-topic frontpage threads, not depression threads). Normally the easy answer would be to downweight the follow-up [1], but this post is nicely reminding the community that HN polls are a thing. So I don't know what to do! I'm tempted to put up a poll asking whether to keep the poll or the original thread, but I have to go o…

Is there a reason the submit page doesn't have a link for making a poll? Perhaps the lack of discoverability is hindering this somewhat? I had no idea polls were even a thing here (first I've ever seen, thought it was a 'beta'/test feature).

Re: Poll: Have you experienced depressive symptoms over the past two weeks?

#70

Post by tbenst »

proverbialbunny wrote: post #44
danielvaughn wrote: post #22

I don't felt the need to see a doctor about what I'm experiencing, so I'm not sure if what I have qualifies as depression. But over the past several months, it feels like my entire personality and being is a rug that has been pulled out from underneath me. I'm no longer the driven and interested person that I used to be. I struggle to sit down and work - my brain feels scattered and no matter how much I sleep and res…

>So is that depression? Yep, but the cause in your case is unknown. For example, it could be work burnout causing it. It could be not going outside that is causing it. It could be not socializing that is causing it. It could be your diet. It could be ... If you can identify the cause you can find a solution. Unfortunately, the best most people have is a shotgun approach where they try a combination of solutions attem…

This is a kind and thoughtful reply.

I would push back on the notion that there has to be a cause for depression. Maybe there is, but it can lead to the dangerous conclusion that it’s somehow one’s fault, when it’s actually a maladaptive behavioral state; a disease.

Fully agree with your advice to talk to a professional.

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