Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression • Hacker News Board

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#231

Post by paulryanrogers » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:10 AM UTC

recursive wrote: post #165

bluerooibos wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All you need to do is go to sleep before 12 every single night and wake up at 7am without fail, hit the gym and crank out a few sets of squats, hit the pool and the sauna, read a chapter of that book, and then cook yourself an amazing breakfast, all before 9am. If you're a real go-getter, though, you'd wake up at 6am and do some vibe coding for an hour on that side hustle. Super simple.

This but unironically. I don't post on LinkedIn or anything. But sometimes it seems like all the agonizing people sometimes do over whether or not they should follow their plan (fitness, diet, productivity) makes it ten times worse. It can be possible to decide to do something in advance, and then... just do it. The more times you do it the easier it gets. My wife comments on this sometimes. I guess not everyone has…

The list of things I must do is large and growing. Much of it outside my control. Yes, I could sell the house but rent is quite high. Yes, I could divorce the wife but that actually makes for more work. Yes, I could abandon the children but I've grown attached; and that's only legal after finding someone else willing to adopt them and a judge willing to approve it. Yes, I could deny any help with the elderly parents on both sides of the family but that seems extreme and carries a social cost. Yes, I could spend a few decades trying to cure the medical issues I've collected but that leaves little time for anything mentioned earlier.

Then there are the things I'd like to do.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#232

Post by baby » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:12 AM UTC

cheald wrote: post #2

This is a finding that keeps coming up, and I've certainly found it true in my life, but there's a significant chicken-and-egg problem in that depression frequently precludes the motivation to exercise, and if you don't already have a deeply-disciplined routine to overcome the lack of motivation, people won't do it. Exhortation to develop those good habits in the good times, I suppose.

I think we also approach exercise the wrong way. And IMO this is true with sleep too (which also impacts depression). We're using the wrong metrics.

The most important thing to get started with working out is just to start doing some exercise. You can start on one push up a day or something. It's all about creating momentum and habit.

Once you do it, then you can increase the time and the intensity and optimize exercise and all. But doing sport should be about doing one push up a day and thats it. About starting as slow as you can.

Sleep is the same in that we try to sleep as much as we can, and get as much REM and deep sleep, and these are not the right metrics for most people. The most important is just to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. That's it.

People are obsessed with trying to go to sleep at some point in time. Don't. Go to sleep when you're tired, wake up sleep deprived at the right time, the next evening it'll be easier to sleep at the right time

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#233

Post by Aeglaecia » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:15 AM UTC

azan_ wrote: post #229

Aeglaecia wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and people wonder why i call psychiatrists legal drug dealers - what incentive does a psychiatrist have to fix someone , when they could make 10x more money keeping that person dependant forever

If we had effective treatment, then psychiatrists that are effective would quickly displace ones that keep you hooked on non-effective ones.

theres definitely a few counter arguments that are valid ... on a personal level i am far too biased to consider changing my mind , after multiple times witnessing psychiatrists increase drug dosages upon being informed that symptoms were improving ... thats what a drug dealer does not a doctor ... oh shit that sounds like an llm hahaha

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#234

Post by bunnybomb2 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:15 AM UTC

jokoon wrote: post #55

I tried intensive workout It's unhelpful because I got tired, and then I stopped workout entirely Now I just do fast walking and it's nice

You sound like a couch potato, like me.

Try HIIT 1 minute walking, 1 minute running

stimulating for the brain, safe, fun and an easy way to ease into running.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#235

Post by bunnybomb2 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:19 AM UTC

carlosjobim wrote: post #139

CrossVR wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has more to do with hunger requiring a tremendous amount of willpower to ignore rather than fat people having less willpower than people of average weight.

It takes a tremendous amount the first 3-7 times. After that it is a learned skill.

The entirety of this thread is people thinking life is easy. Kill yourself or get over it, and I mean in a sentimental way.. (Not literally)

The only thing that helped my depression, apathy and executive dysfunction was realizing I was going to rot anyways, I was never going to be happy, so I may as well start the startup, go on runs, and succeed.

Let go of the expectation you will want to/be in the mood or feel good from it

Life is not chocolate malts and gummy bears

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#236

Post by bmicraft » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:19 AM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #210

bmicraft wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reads like an ad. Why would you capitalize it like a product name and then even link to the website? I still have no idea what it really is. From the name I'd think you're going for a run at a local park. The website calls it a "5k and 2k community event", what that's supposed to mean I have no clue. It insists you either "join" or "volunteer", all while being as non-specific as possible why I should even care 2…

5k is a common distance for runs. 2k would be a shorter run/walk event, it's more common when you have kids participating. It's not confusing, just normal language. No cults involved unless you think running is a cult. The "k" is for "kilometer" in case you're still confused.

5k is not a distance. 5km, 5 thousand feet or yards are. I've never heard of this weird and unnecessary "abbreviation"

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#237

Post by jjtheblunt » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:20 AM UTC

multiplegeorges wrote: post #86

jjtheblunt wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet simply having a dog needing walking tips the scales into an exercise routine at some level.

It did for me. You have to be truly heartless to see a dog being sad about not going outside. So you take it for a walk, then another and another. Soon enough you're researching hiking trails in your region and getting healthier. Dogs are the best.

agreed, with an addendum : we have rescue cats too, and they too are like "nope, off the computer, time to play".

And perhaps because we have both, they all will play games together (and with us humans): the cats are like dogs who can do gymnastics.

the cats will walk outside on leashes but look annoyed and embarrassed. however our feral ancestry dog is like having Richard Simmons on meth...and makes me amused at people who are like "a border collie is a handful". i'm like tell it to her paw.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#238

Post by Jtsummers » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:22 AM UTC

bmicraft wrote: post #236

Jtsummers wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5k is a common distance for runs. 2k would be a shorter run/walk event, it's more common when you have kids participating. It's not confusing, just normal language. No cults involved unless you think running is a cult. The "k" is for "kilometer" in case you're still confused.

5k is not a distance. 5km, 5 thousand feet or yards are. I've never heard of this weird and unnecessary "abbreviation"

> 5k is not a distance. 5km, 5 thousand feet or yards are.

I answered that question already, try reading my earlier comment. And if you think it's weird, take it up with people from last century when they started using that abbreviation.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#239

Post by recursive » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:26 AM UTC

paulryanrogers wrote: post #231

recursive wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This but unironically. I don't post on LinkedIn or anything. But sometimes it seems like all the agonizing people sometimes do over whether or not they should follow their plan (fitness, diet, productivity) makes it ten times worse. It can be possible to decide to do something in advance, and then... just do it. The more times you do it the easier it gets. My wife comments on this sometimes. I guess not everyone has…

The list of things I must do is large and growing. Much of it outside my control. Yes, I could sell the house but rent is quite high. Yes, I could divorce the wife but that actually makes for more work. Yes, I could abandon the children but I've grown attached; and that's only legal after finding someone else willing to adopt them and a judge willing to approve it. Yes, I could deny any help with the elderly parents…

I mean, yes. That's true for everyone. Different people have different life circumstances. It's equally important not to decide to do things that one can't realistically do, for whatever reasons there may be. I'm not sure what your point is.

Don't sell your house if you don't have a realistic place to live lined up. Don't divorce your wife if it's not worth the work.

I'm not saying everyone can or should be grindset hustle bro. Probably no one. I'm just saying that it is sometimes possible to decide what you're going to do in advance. If you already have too many obligations, that could include deciding which ones to fail. That's probably better than trying to do everything and just rolling the dice.

It's surprising how controversial this idea is, but it works for me. I hope you find something that works for you.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#240

Post by evanjrowley » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 1:27 AM UTC

javier123454321 wrote: post #52

gehsty wrote: post #19

If it helps anyone I take antidepressants and have had a positive experience with them. Depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance and no amount of exercise or talking about it will fix it. One of the most frustrating things when your really low is people giving advice like do exercise to feel better - please don’t do this.

Jim Carey had the best way to think about this: “I believe depression is legitimate. But I also believe that if you don’t exercise, eat nutritious food, get sunlight, get enough sleep, consume positive material, surround yourself with support, then you aren’t giving yourself a fighting chance.”

Another quote from Jim Carey:

  People talk about depression all the time.

  The difference between depression and sadness is sadness is just, you know, from happen stance. Whatever happened or didn't happen for you...

  ... and depression is your body saying fuck you, I don't want to be this character anymore, I don't want to hold up this avatar that you've created in the world. It's too much for me.

  So, a friend of mine who's a spiritual teacher has a really good take. His name is Jeff Foster, and his take on it is that they should change [how we think of] the word "depressed" as "deep rest"

  deep rest - your body needs to be depressed, It needs deep rest from the character that you've been trying to play.

Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/lMQJ2bHeP4c?si=UPRHV8DVWZ77nXCM