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

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

#251

Post by kazinator » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:10 AM UTC

dang wrote: post #250

skywhopper wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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 2…

As a long time Usenetter, I don't care about the first two sentences being abrasive, but the material in quotes is insinuating that the replied-to grandparent at some point contained that verbatim text. I have a hunch that it did not, which is not cool. Particularly because the text is negative, making the false attribution defamatory, which is a different category from insults.

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

#252

Post by beams » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:16 AM UTC

jjulius wrote: post #185

BoneShard wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and not have any kids.

Nah, you can do it with kids! I have two that are about to be 4 and 6, here are my weekdays: - Alarm at 4:30. 5 mins of breathing exercises, 20 mins of meditation. - Make coffee, have breakfast, out the door to work by ~5:30. - Get to work's gym by 5:45, cardio for 60 mins. - In my office by 7:00-7:15. - 3:30, 25 mins of breathe work and meditation again. Tuesdays and Thursdays, this is 3:15 so I can fit in ~30 mins…

This sounds utterly horrific but I'm glad you're enjoying it.

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

#253

Post by dang » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:21 AM UTC

kazinator wrote: post #251

dang wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 2…

As a long time Usenetter, I don't care about the first two sentences being abrasive, but the material in quotes is insinuating that the replied-to grandparent at some point contained that verbatim text. I have a hunch that it did not, which is not cool. Particularly because the text is negative, making the false attribution defamatory, which is a different category from insults.

Yes, using quotation marks to make it look like you're quoting someone when you're not is a trope of internet aggression and something we've long asked HN commenters not to do: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que..., and is one of the reasons why the GP comment was abusive.

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

#254

Post by dang » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:23 AM UTC

stuffn wrote: post #156

wombatpm wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medication is the fastest way to make some positive progress before you completely spiral and majorly fuck up your life. Would you rather take a pill and keep working while you sort things out or would you try to rebuild everything after you burn it all down? Talk therapy and exercise may be just as effective or more so long term, but may not be effective enough in the short term.

[flagged]

Whoa, you can't post like this to HN, regardless of how wrong someone is or you feel they are.

We ban accounts that do this, and I'm afraid you've been breaking the site guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) in other places as well, including other personal attacks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46530967.

It also looks like you've been using HN primarily for ideological battle, which is not something we allow here (see https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme... for past explanations of this point).

Would you mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules? We'd appreciate it. You're welcome here as long as you do that, but we really need commenters to stay respectful, avoid posting in the flamewar style, and (above all) use the site primarily for curiosity, not smiting enemies.

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

#255

Post by fuzzer371 » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:27 AM UTC

jjulius wrote: post #201

keybored wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

-

Nah, I typed it up in like three mins lol

How did you fit those 3 minutes into your day!?

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

#256

Post by blandflakes » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:33 AM UTC

andy99 wrote: post #158

roguechimpanzee wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know you’re being smart but these things are all possible if you want to make them happen

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.

It's also pretty insulting to assume that everything is equally easy for all people.

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

#257

Post by greenie_beans » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:37 AM UTC

jjtheblunt wrote: post #76

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…

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

yes and then dog dies so you go back into a depression :(

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

#258

Post by mancerayder » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:40 AM UTC

yomismoaqui wrote: post #68

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.

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…

>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.

Absolutely!! Don't wait to Feel Like It, or Be Motivated... and especially do not depend on another person/trainer/weather to motivate you!

Fitness is a to-do, like laundry or grocery shopping or going to work. Now where the nuance comes in is finding what you enjoy. But a nuance of this nuance is, you don't know what you like until you have done it for a while, at least one month. Don't do boot camps or hacky gimmicky things people try to trick themselves into doing.

For a while I was deep into photography and writing. In both, I read and listened to people who were experts - successful writers and photographers. I learned this - they don't wait for inspiration. They commit X time per day to doing their craft, as habit.

I write this after coming from the gym, on a chilly night, after a relatively annoying day, and I feel 80 percent better.

Now the joint soreness and constant tightness are a problem, cuz I'm getting older. But it must be done.

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

#259

Post by doctaj » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 2:56 AM UTC

shibapuppie wrote: post #246

roguechimpanzee wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

People just don’t get the context >.>

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

#260

Post by machomaster » Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 3:32 AM UTC

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 read, but did not actually listen to my explanation of energy. I gave it for a damn good reason; because most people misunderstand it and my explanations light the bulbs in people's heads.

You also totally missed the point of suggestions entirely. I assume that happened because you were out of brain/willpower energy.

My suggestions were not to try harder. They were the exact opposite, they were about:

1. constraining your energy output

2. being careful where and how you spend your energy

3. do a better targeting with your energy

4. hacks to do the same (or more) with less energy

5. restoring energy

Please reread my previous message after you sleep and with a good mood. Assume that I actually know what I am talking about (because I truly do) and my goodwill. Assume that I did not spend my time writing a long comment in order to anger or troll you, but because I wanted to help; I saw clear indicators of certain problems, to which I am able to provide solutions that work in practice.