Drugs (methylphenidate, better known as "ritalin" in the US)
Concerta for me, but the same result. I feel a lot more stable and optimistic about the future. AND I get things done instead of sitting on the couch in a daze.
Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
41–50 of 99 posts
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#42At one point I had a bookshelf full of books on depression, fear, lack of confidence, etc., so it's impossible to answer such a broad question in a comment, but let me comment on the "high potential" sub-question. Personally I no longer think that "high potential" is a real thing--I think of it more as of a mental trap that can play part in depression (it definitely played a big part in mine..). What I mean by that (…
> So what I'm saying is that your actual potential has been exactly what you observed!
+1; How close is my paraphrasing to what you were thinking?
achievement(person) = potential(person) - adversity(person)
People implicitly assume the 'adversity' term is negligible. But in reality, the 'adversity' term can very large, and vary widely from person to person.
[yep the "equation" isn't dimensionally consistent. It's meant to be a "completion prompt" to your internal LLM to translate those tokens to a longer paragraph.]
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#43For me I had a little phase of not understanding the despair and hatred I received for forking Audacity at the time. I didn't understand why people would do that, and neither why they decide to have "fun" being a bully online and lying about things that never happened. When /pol/ and kiwifarms came at me, I wasn't sure how to deal with that, especially because most rumors supposedly happened when I was asleep, not ev…
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Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#44It’s probably a bad idea, but having a child seems to have made things significantly better in some ways. I’m still prone to anxiety, but existential fears have been greatly reduced. I attribute this mostly to lack of time to think too much, so you can probably find different ways to achieve the same effect. I think somewhere along the way I’ve also become adult enough to realize that there will be days I accomplish…
>It's probably a bad idea
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#45one small success at a time. Its a very deep mantra once you start applying in life.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
> but having a child seems to have made things significantly better in some ways A child answers the existentialist "why I'm here? what's the point?" question on a primal, fundamental level. The child needs you, your purpose is to care for it.
This phase lasts until they are teenagers, and the questions come back but stronger. Unless you enjoy the answer to "why I'm here" being "driving my teen around to hang with their dubious friends", "nagging about homework", and "human paycheque." Just sayin' :-) I love my kids, but children are not the answer to getting meaning into your life. Having a mid-life crisis in your late 40s & 50s long after you've had kids…
eh, life expectancy for US males is 77 by that point you're practically dead (sarcasm). More generally, worrying about a mid-life crisis feels silly and probably only compounds angst.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#47For me I had a little phase of not understanding the despair and hatred I received for forking Audacity at the time. I didn't understand why people would do that, and neither why they decide to have "fun" being a bully online and lying about things that never happened. When /pol/ and kiwifarms came at me, I wasn't sure how to deal with that, especially because most rumors supposedly happened when I was asleep, not ev…
God damn! This hits, and it also hits in its simplicity.
Thanks :)
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#48The best advice I been given: “when your problems seem overwhelming, get busy solving other people’s problems. Not only will you feel good about helping others and get that feeling of productivity, seeing what others are dealing with will also give you perspective on your own problems and a renewed sense of hope and energy”. Volunteer somewhere. Help a friend out. But try to do it in person where you can get more of…
> The best advice I been given: “when your problems seem overwhelming, get busy solving other people’s problems. …” As someone in the midst of trying this I can tell you personally it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I think I’m starting to realize that this person is beyond my capability to help and all the time I’ve wasted helping them could have been spent improving my own situation
> I think I’m starting to realize that this person is beyond my capability to help and all the time I’ve wasted helping them could have been spent improving my own situation
From my personal environment: there are many people that are beyond my capability to help.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#49The best advice I been given: “when your problems seem overwhelming, get busy solving other people’s problems. Not only will you feel good about helping others and get that feeling of productivity, seeing what others are dealing with will also give you perspective on your own problems and a renewed sense of hope and energy”. Volunteer somewhere. Help a friend out. But try to do it in person where you can get more of…
> The best advice I been given: “when your problems seem overwhelming, get busy solving other people’s problems. …” As someone in the midst of trying this I can tell you personally it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I think I’m starting to realize that this person is beyond my capability to help and all the time I’ve wasted helping them could have been spent improving my own situation
> it’s not all it’s cracked up to be
> this person is beyond my capability to help
I think there's something to be said about the difference between "solving other people's problems" and "solving someone's problems". If the whole idea is to not be so invested into one life and get perspective, volunteering somewhere ought to be on a different league then trying to sort one specific person's life.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get yourself out of a rut?
#50It’s probably a bad idea, but having a child seems to have made things significantly better in some ways. I’m still prone to anxiety, but existential fears have been greatly reduced. I attribute this mostly to lack of time to think too much, so you can probably find different ways to achieve the same effect. I think somewhere along the way I’ve also become adult enough to realize that there will be days I accomplish…
This answer is IMO a strong distractive strategy. I don't have children, but as a former gamer, I do know a thing or two about distraction! What I found: after the distraction has run its course, it will come back to you.
Distraction suppresses. It doesn't actually allow you to work through it.
That's my experience at least.