Founders On Depression
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Founders On Depression
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Re: Founders On Depression
#2> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to addressing this ever growing phenomenon, especially in today’s social networking age that the tech community has helped bring about, is to accept it as a natural consequence of life and address it as such.
Founder 2 is dangerously wrong. This person shows the fundamental misunderstanding of mental illness and turns it into a shameful thing -- mental illness is for crazy people!. Brain:body :: mental illness:physical illness.
Further, he dismisses depression as "a natural consequence of life," which is one step from saying "everyone feels sad sometimes, get over it."
People find it so difficult to get treatment for depression, which is absurd to me. If your arm gets broken, you don't "suck it up" and say "that's life", you go to a doctor and get treated. It's no different when your brain gets broken.
Re: Founders On Depression
#3I'm not a founder, just a techie with mild depressive tendencies. I think the advice to talk to someone when you feel it coming on is the best - if you talk to someone about the specific things bothering you, it can help avoid the scenario where the things loom so large in your mind that you can't get past them. Talking about problems somehow brings them back down to human scale and can help you realize how much you've built them up in your head. It's remarkable the number of times in my life that I have dreaded something that ended up being totally not that big a deal.
Re: Founders On Depression
#4> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to add…
> If your arm gets broken, you don't "suck it up" and say "that's life", you go to a doctor and get treated. It's no different when your brain gets broken.
People say this sort of thing a lot, but it strikes me as unhelpful. The stigma against seeking help for mental health exists and is real, whether you think it's absurd or not. And that stigma often exists in the very people who need help, so just saying "oh you're being silly" is super not empathetic. It's actually not that different from the founder you mention.
Furthermore, 5 separate doctors will all concur that my arm is broken. But they will not concur that I have schizophrenia, or borderline personality disorder, or whatever. There are a number of reasons why that is, but my point is that none of this is as cut-and-dried as a fracture -- not the diagnosis, not the treatment, not the patient's acceptance that something is wrong.
Re: Founders On Depression
#5> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to add…
I definitely agree with you. He seems to be perpetuating the notion that depression is somehow a character flaw. There are so many different reasons why people get depressed that I think it clouds the distinction between general sadness and actual psychological depression. The only thing I found to truly help was pure empathy from any combination of loved ones/professionals.
Re: Founders On Depression
#6> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to add…
This, this a million time.
This guy has no idea what he is talking about. Hell, over here (Canada) we have ads and public campaigns all over that say "Depression is a mental illness, do not be shameful, consult a mental health professional".
Re: Founders On Depression
#7> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to add…
If you've ever tried to get help you'll know that they just put you on whatever pill gives them the biggest kick back. When that doesn't work they put you on another, and another. I've been dealing with trying to get some help for years and I'm pretty sure they think I'm just making up shit at this point.
Re: Founders On Depression
#8> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to add…
I definitely agree with you. He seems to be perpetuating the notion that depression is somehow a character flaw. There are so many different reasons why people get depressed that I think it clouds the distinction between general sadness and actual psychological depression. The only thing I found to truly help was pure empathy from any combination of loved ones/professionals.
No, not as a character flaw, but as a reasonable response to a huge amount of stress.
I still agree that he is dangerously ambiguous and mostly incorrect though.
Re: Founders On Depression
#9> First of all, not sure I would call depression mental illness. In fact, I am offended by the word. It’s like saying that having a fever when you get a cold is having a muscle illness. I think the majority of people out there are depressed at some point and have no idea because society deems depression as a “mental illness” and therefore as something foreign and strange that only mentally ill people have. Key to add…
If you've ever tried to get help you'll know that they just put you on whatever pill gives them the biggest kick back. When that doesn't work they put you on another, and another. I've been dealing with trying to get some help for years and I'm pretty sure they think I'm just making up shit at this point.
> If you've ever tried to get help you'll know that they just put you on whatever pill gives them the biggest kick back.
I have to heavily disagree with you because I don't want your post to dissuade anyone who may be considering looking for help from doing so. It is not an intractable problem. I have tried to get help, and received it with zero medication. The key is to see a therapist (PhD - talk therapy) not a psychiatrist (MD - prescribe drugs).
Weekly talk therapy + mindfulness + meditation worked extremely well for me, over the course of about 9 months, in terms of dealing with anxiety and depression. I don't feel "cured" but I feel way more in control than I did before, and I am no longer afraid of depression and anxiety, I've literally learned to cope.
As someone who is very comfortable with the fact that I was in therapy at one point, I really want to encourage everyone to try it, even if you are completely happy right now. Think of it as casually taking intro classes in learning to deal with the stress of life, and learning some basic emotional coping skills, not some way to fix yourself.
All that being said, there are people for whom I would guess drugs are preferable. I had that discussion with my therapist and we agreed they weren't for me. I can't speak for you, but I would highly suggest the multitude of non-drug opportunities for addressing mental health issues since it seems like the drugs aren't necessarily helping. Your doctor should be able to refer you to a talk therapist, but if not you should really consider switching doctors.
Finally, my contact information is in my profile, anyone who might have any questions about any of this or who is considering trying therapy, please feel free to contact me.
Re: Founders On Depression
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you've ever tried to get help you'll know that they just put you on whatever pill gives them the biggest kick back. When that doesn't work they put you on another, and another. I've been dealing with trying to get some help for years and I'm pretty sure they think I'm just making up shit at this point.
> If you've ever tried to get help you'll know that they just put you on whatever pill gives them the biggest kick back. I have to heavily disagree with you because I don't want your post to dissuade anyone who may be considering looking for help from doing so. It is not an intractable problem. I have tried to get help, and received it with zero medication. The key is to see a therapist (PhD - talk therapy) not a psy…
It's not that I want to avoid medication I just want whatever can help. I am talking about when you see your general practitioner and they prescribe you the usual antidepressants. A psychiatrist can prescribe much more powerful drugs and probably provide a better diagnoses too. I have not been referred to one of them. I've been to a clinal therapist and while it helped a little bit I'm still no where near what I feel is normal. Going to a therapist is a major time and money commitment. I luckily have a job that is pretty flexible. The most helpful thing for me is exercise which gives me a temporary relief for a few hours afterwords but sometimes I don't have enough energy. I also keep injuring myself and that prevents me from being able to get a good workout.