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Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

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

#241

Post by hn_acc1 »

taeric wrote: post #189
yomismoaqui wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Motivation is fleeting but routine persists. When there is something that you want to do regularly (exercise, doing the final boring part of some sideproject, cleaning the house...) you remove willpower from the equation and set a day and a time. For example, everyday from 18 to 19 I work on my sideprojects, or saturdays from 16 to 18 is house cleaning time. There is no question if I want to do it, it is set at that…

As someone that is unable to keep any sort of routine, I have objections here. :D Without some sort of obligating circumstance, it is incredibly easy to forego what would have otherwise been today's routine.

This 100x. I go to work because I don't want to have a long uncomfortable conversation with my boss, and because I hate interviewing, and not having income is even worse. Even at work, I often find reasons (like HN) to do actually DO work.

I've had routines at times in my life for months. And they disappear in a matter of days when I get stressed or my schedule changes or whatever.

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

#242

Post by hn_acc1 »

boplicity wrote: post #10
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.

We have a certain amount of "willpower" that can overcome motivational barriers. This willpower is limited, though. It's very helpful to have clear guidance on where to allocate this very limited resources, especially in situations where people are otherwise struggling. All of which is to say -- these exhortations can play a useful role. :)

AIUI, the whole "certain amount of willpower" was a misunderstanding / exaggeration / bullshit claim that's not really held to be true anymore.

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

#243

Post by bunnybomb2 »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #183
machomaster wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you ever feel unmotivated to go to the toilet despite needing to? Has this lack of motivation ever stopped you from getting from your chair? What modern people usually lack is not time, but lack of energy. Usually this is thought as the energy to do stuff (like coding a side hussle in the evening). But often it manifests in a lack of energy: 1. to make a decision (to do something) 2. to slow down, to stop the curr…

I really don’t like being snarky here but this is an absolutely perfect example of what I was talking about in my last paragraph. I didn’t mention energy because energy has no relevance. I’ve literally broken down crying because I really wanted to work but my brain refused to move. I was having such a great day and was really motivated. I spend hours and absolutely exhausted every bit of energy I had trying every adv…

You arent the only human whos had a issue with not getting things done, its normal, and its hackable. Brains are hackable.

I dont mean to say you implied it, but its easy to dig a larger hole when you believe you are special, or you have tried "all" the advice.

Every problem has a solution, and I beg you to search deeper to what you do even in task-paralysis states. That might be where your mission comes from.

It helped me to have a life goal that was bigger than life, ego, or energy. Maybe you havent found it yet. If you have, I apologize if I sound cocky!

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

#244

Post by jimnotgym »

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 always wondered if this kind of research was just finding that depressed people motivated to exercise are already in a recovery mindset

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

#245

Post by getnormality »

I'm sure the result is in some sense valid, but it's like saying that radiation therapy can be nearly as effective as antibiotics for a sore throat. The conditions under which it works, the method of action, and what is accomplished are all different.

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

#246

Post by shibapuppie »

roguechimpanzee wrote: post #199
andy99 wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People would rather blame external factors and not take responsibility. It’s actually insulting to people who work hard that some people assume they have it easy somehow, like the “must be nice” comment upstream. Not everyone takes the view that you can’t control what happens to you, it’s pretty easy to see who does.

You can actually just choose to lock in. And you don't need a perfect streak. Waking up early, working out and eating a nutritious breakfast is a perfect morning for probably 90% of people but our society is so broken that being healthy is associated with being either a grifter or a fascist.

You can actually just choose to not be depressed too. Just skip the therapy and exercise altogether.

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

#247

Post by diob »

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.

Yes, exactly. I have exercised daily (either weight training or cardio) for nearly 20 years. I've also had anxiety and depression for that entire stretch of time.

Exercise was how I stayed mildly sane for a good majority of those years, but when I started taking medication it was like the entire world changed. I wish I had started earlier in life. It helped me to become a lot more introspective as well, being able to better examine why I was feeling the way I did.

There are some things that no amount of exercise or "healthy living" can fix, that's unfortunately just the human condition. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

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

#248

Post by evanjrowley »

I've had many exercise regimens throughout my life but never has it ever helped me with mental health in any way.

Exercise has always been a mental drain for me. A day when I go to the gym is a day when I give up mental capacity that could have been used for something else. I'll be less effective at work and less organized at home. It's like my IQ's dropped by double digits.

I drink enough water and electrolytes, in case anybody's wondering.

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

#249

Post by dang »

stuffn wrote: post #157
skywhopper wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Please don't respond to a bad comment by breaking the site guidelines yourself. That only makes things worse.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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

#250

Post by dang »

skywhopper wrote: post #131
stuffn wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or avoid medication for anything but treatment resistant depression. SSRIs are not well understood. Their side effects are not great. Getting off them is miserable. I had them. I felt dead inside. Mission accomplished. Depression was gone, so was my desire to eat, have sex, or do anything else. I wasn’t depressed, I was a zombie. 8 adjustments and medications later I got off them and realized they’re yet another pill…

[flagged]

We've asked you to stop posting like this to HN. I understand that the topic is sensitive and personal, but being this aggressive in HN comments is not ok and we ban accounts that do it.

You've been a good contributor to HN for a long time and most of your comments aren't like this, but there is also a long history of us asking you to stop posting personal attacks:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46012112 (Nov 2025)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21867262 (Dec 2019)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21327013 (Oct 2019)

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Moreover, your account has continued to be in the habit of posting aggressive comments recently, including personal attacks (e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46478121, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46463522). This is not cool.

I don't want to ban you but it's important to preserve this place for its intended purpose of curious conversation (which depends on thoughtful, respectful comments), so if you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stop doing this going forward, we'd be grateful.

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