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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?

#211

Post by dang »

aboringusername wrote: post #69
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).

A secret reward for people who read the FAQ? I don't know. It hasn't ever really been HN's way to prioritize discoverabillity. That has downsides of course.

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

#212

Post by damnencryption »

ineedasername wrote: post #183
damnencryption wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Essentialism, influence, Putin: prisoner of power, no longer human, invisible cities, and how to lie with statistics. I am currently going through psychology of money (although it doesn't seem that interesting yet) but I can take up a few recommendations if you have any :) I have been using audible as my primary way to read (listen?) and supplement it with kindle. Reading is too much friction at first but once I get…

It might fit those books, there's a great one that is also highly entertaining called "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion".

Hehe, that's the one I added above on second place.

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

#213

Post by pmiller2 »

vegadw wrote: post #62

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 wou…

This is not a diagnosis, but you should evaluated by a professional for PTSD.

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

#214

Post by [deleted] »

danieltillett wrote: post #150
damnencryption wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few members in my distant family died in the last few months. One of whom I was close with (grandparent) but it barely affected me negatively yet I had been forced into shell for months due to otherwise small things in the past. It's not the severity of the outcome. I recovered faster from those. I require medicine when that happens and the triggers are always small non obvious. Please don't judge people based on t…

I guess I am an optimist by nature and I certainly prefer to look at the positive rather than the negative. I am not sure it is helpful for most people to focus on the negatives in their lives rather than the positive. I have yet to see anyone’s life improved by brooding on what is wrong rather than what is right. I wasn’t actually judging anyone’s situation, just questioning how we have got to the situation where 2/…

[deleted]

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

#215

Post by steve_adams_86 »

Pokepokalypse wrote: post #194
steve_adams_86 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it so strange that when people have such clear indicators of depression, they’re still like “I’m not sure if this is legit depression but...” I personally got to the point where I was practically fantasizing about dying and still wasn’t sure if that’s real depression. I think we ease into it and forget what being happy was like, such that the depression practically becomes normal. It’s awful

That's because depression is deeply tied into the Kubler-Ross model, and the natural first response in the process of grieving is denial. It's really amazing how easy this is to understand, if you've been through it.

The notion of denial makes sense in that context. I reflect on depressive times and I really was in denial; that's been clear to me in many moments. I'd speak to people like everything was AWESOME after leaving my home from a morning of intense self-loathing and resentment - the kinds of gut-wrenching thoughts and feelings you'd reserve for someone you hate with all your heart. And I'd kind of believe myself for even minutes at a time. The denial was strong. Denial or pure escapism, I'm not really sure.

What else can you do when you're hurting like that though. I mean, if you don't have the tools to cope, the mental capacity to endure much more, the experience to draw on to recognize the patterns and trajectories and so on. You're practically forced to deny or defer it when you're unequipped to manage it.

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

#216

Post by sincarne »

tbenst wrote: post #70
proverbialbunny wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

Well said regarding “cause.” Depression often has a trigger, but that is separate from a cause. The trigger-and a pandemic is a great one-is just the thing that exacerbates an existing, possibly dormant, condition.

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

#217

Post by jonnytran »

proverbialbunny wrote: post #54
roflc0ptic wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also: drink less coffee.

I drink decaf. ^_^ There is decaf out there as good as the best non-decaf coffee (I drink espresso, yum!) and it's a pretty short amount of time before the brain normalizes to decaf and it will wake you up without the negative side effects. But yah, caffeine while anxious can be not a good time.

Any recommendations on brands for good decaf? I've never tasted decaf coffee that wasn't awful.

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

#218

Post by golergka »

2020 has been the first year I feel like I'm getting out of a chronic depression I've struggled with my whole life. Transition to remote has been incredible boon for my mental health, years of work in therapy are finally paying off, I'm using much less alcohol and drugs and do it much more responsibly. Not a single day when I just can't get out of bed and answer any calls, even in November.

Really feel like I'm an outlier here, but it's really possible to fight this and get better, even if you've felt this way from early childhood.

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

#219

Post by roflc0ptic »

jonnytran wrote: post #217
proverbialbunny wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drink decaf. ^_^ There is decaf out there as good as the best non-decaf coffee (I drink espresso, yum!) and it's a pretty short amount of time before the brain normalizes to decaf and it will wake you up without the negative side effects. But yah, caffeine while anxious can be not a good time.

Any recommendations on brands for good decaf? I've never tasted decaf coffee that wasn't awful.

Decaf kind of necessarily tastes bad - the decaffeination process removes a bunch of the aromatic compounds that provide the pleasant flavor.

After an acclimation period, herbal tea can be a satisfying substitute.

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

#220

Post by cutemonster »

Viliam1234 wrote: post #204
mjayhn wrote: post #184

As someone who has dealt with depression their entire life it's really something to start to see people who have never, ever dealt with it begin to try to compartmentalize their lives from their depression and look for every other option before declaring it depression. Like it's some horrible disease you'd never want to catch, like any of us have the option. I really hate that it took this but I've had my feelings/de…

> some of you are just so far removed from actually understanding your own feelings and emotions that you can't even recognize that you're depressed For example, I am quite aware that I have some feeling X. I am just not sure whether other people use the word "depression" to refer to X, or something else. Maybe "depression" actually refers to 10 times X, how am I supposed to know? Sometimes people use the same words…

I've been wondering about that me too

I wonder what could be good ways to "calibrate" one's words against each other

So thereafter two people who say "depression" mean the same thing and X strength

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