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

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

#351

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:26 PM 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

Dude, not when we are talking about mental health problems. A semi serious mental health problem can take you out of the routine of showering, eating and brushing yoir teeth.

>There is no question if I want to do it, it is set at that time and I have to do it, period.

Again we talk about mental health here. Getting out of bed before dinner can be an impossible task. There is no "I have to do it, period". That period can cease to exist, and all you are left with is "i have to do it" over and over again without the ability to actually do it.

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

#352

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:30 PM UTC

roguechimpanzee wrote: post #140

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.

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

No its not.

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

#353

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:32 PM UTC

nradov wrote: post #336

Forgeties79 wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your prior comment makes it sound like you assume it’s generally just about willpower and that external factors aren’t generally an issue. Is that accurate?

No, is generally about discipline and building good habits. Willpower or lack thereof is largely irrelevant. I'm not convinced that willpower is even a real thing.

Dicipline and the ability to build good habits is out of the window for a lot of people due to different illnesses. You come across as trying to sell snake oil to people with a heart attack.

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

#354

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:37 PM UTC

machomaster wrote: post #175

kayodelycaon wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This method requires a significant amount of executive function. My body doesn't feel the passage of time consistently. So my mind is never prepared to switch activities when it needs to. And there are times my brain stops working on a particular task and nothing can get it started again. It's like a leg going out, you just can't stand on it. This isn't occasionally where habit could be picked back up. This has been…

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…

>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?

A lot of people with depression and adhd will nod "yes" here. Sorry but you have no idea. Great it works for you.

When I am healthy I can work out 4-5 times a week (lWhen I am ill all I can is to try my best to be a dad. You have no idea.

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

#355

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:41 PM UTC

bunnybomb2 wrote: post #243

kayodelycaon wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 hel…

>t 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!

You are incredibly cocky, and naive and have very little insight on other peoples situation. You are reducing peoples various illnesses to something that can be solved if they just tried a bit harder not to be sick. If only it was so easy.

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

#356

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:44 PM UTC

bunnybomb2 wrote: post #339

kayodelycaon wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re cocky. :) Some people are special. The preferred term is neurodivergent. ;) There are times you just can’t fix a broken brain by trying harder or finding an alternative. It can be really difficult to understand if you’ve never experienced it yourself. For you there’s, always been a way to get something done. What do you do when you try to throw something with your arm and your entire body doesn’t move? No matt…

I am neurodivergent, I have experienced exactly what your saying myself for my entire life.. I know the feeling, and to assume I dont/have "always had a way" because I found a way out, iss a very victim way of living. My advice still stands, look deeper. If you want to sit in a hole and repeat how there's no hope, you can, but it wont do anything. You arent different or special. You have hope. I didnt have it easier,…

>I didnt have it easier, I fought harder

No you didn't. Try to build yourself up without putting others down, how is that challenge?

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

#357

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:47 PM UTC

machomaster wrote: post #263

a_t48 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You aren't the only one. For me it was diagnosed as ADHD.

Way too many people treat ADHD as an excuse of not following proper task-management rules. They are so special that no rules could possible apply to them. To all hundreds of millions of them... This is backwards. In practice, it should be the exact opposite. ADHD people should be MORE vigilant regarding the correct behavior, rules, habits. It is neurotypical people who have some leeway to be lazy with what and how th…

>ADHD people should be MORE vigilant regarding the correct behavior, rules, habits.

Yes, but that doesn't make the ADHD fully go away.

>actually solvable with typical means without reinventing the wheel.

Yes, and they are defined by medical science, not your "think deeper".

>The fact that life is harder to organize and manage for ADHD people only means that they should pay EXTRA attention to doing right things the correct way.

Wow great insight, a bit hillarious with the part of asking adhd people pay extra attention. Should the guy with a neurological problem just pay extra attention to moving his leg, and he will soon run as fast as the rest?

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

#358

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:49 PM UTC

machomaster wrote: post #260

kayodelycaon wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. constrai…

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

No, you are pretty bad at communicating. You should try a bit harder, because this is obviously at 10% tops.

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

#359

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 9:52 PM UTC

machomaster wrote: post #335

kayodelycaon wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did reread and I wish I had been more polite. Sorry about that. :( I really do understand. These are all really great things, I'm bipolar and already use all of them. I have to. But they don't apply here. I'm discussing a problem that willpower cannot fix. Here's an analogy: - Think of willpower as fuel you put into a train. - You control how far the train goes by changing the throttle or amount of fuel. - You have…

I wasn't suggesting using willpower to power through the problems. I was suggesting setting up a system, that would fit you and would enable you to live a better and more efficient life. Willpower is useful in setting up the system, to learn it. Not to operate it. Please watch this fundamental video: https://youtu.be/bcKthx5LTbI On a surface it is about dieting, but the lessons can be applied to the rest of the life.…

How can diet replace the wheels? Think bipolar disorder is curable through diet change? Think harder.

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

#360

Post by fastasucan » Sun, Jan 11, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

unparagoned wrote: post #320

imzadi wrote: post #38

This is only talking about therapy and not medication. The original study is a bit light on details https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD... > For the 57 trials (2189 participants) comparing exercise with no treatment or a control intervention, the pooled SMD for depressive symptoms at the end of treatment was −0.67 (95% confidence interval (CI) −0.82 to −0.52; low‐certainty evidence), showing…

Other metas show exercise is more effective than both therapy and drugs. ssri don’t fix any underlying condition and barely work long term, that if they really work at all.

What if medication helps people being able to exercise?