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It appears that these guys are still depressed. Get out, get some sun and exercise. That will work much better than antidepressants. Citations: Exercise is an

It appears that these guys are still depressed. Get out, get some sun and exercise. That will work much better than antidepressants. Citations: Exercise is an Effective Antidepressant http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/mindandbody/a/exercisedep.htm http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/mindandbody/a/exercisedep.h... Sunlight / Vitamin D and depression http://newfoundlandnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/sadness-seasonal-affective-disorder.html http://newfoundlandnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/sadness-seasona...

pw0ncakes 16y ago
Depression and anxiety are biological problems, at least to some extent, and people who have serious biological problems can't just "get out, get some sun and exercise". The drugs work for a lot of people, although it's essential to make lifestyle changes (exercise, sun, healthy diet) in addition to using them... but the people who are in the worst shape can't muster the energy to get out of depression until they start taking the drugs. Anti-depressants are pretty amazing-- far from a panacea, but pretty effective.
- swombat 16y ago
  Open air and exercise can have effects pretty comparable to many pharmaceutical remedies, for a wide range of conditions - including conditions of the mind.
  - chaosmachine 16y ago
    The problem with depression is even if you know doing activity x will make it better, you're too depressed to do it.
    - pw0ncakes 16y ago
      Also, anxiety and depression are often comorbid, so a person who is depressed may come out of the depression but still have anxieties about doing the things necessary to recover. An extreme example of this is agoraphobia, where a person's anxiety reaches such an extent that he becomes unable to leave his house.
  - cmp 16y ago
    Sunshine is not the best disinfectant. Last summer I had my first panic attack. Saying that, I wonder how many people who say "I had a panic attack" have ever experienced a full on, face on the floor, depersonalizing / derealizing panic attack. It felt like I was losing my mind. $250,000 in debt, followed by the disillusion of an 8 year relationship, loss of a job, and a move across the country in a three month period. Chase that with years of outright poverty (earning less than $10,000 [net] over the course of two years.) 7 days of Xanax and the wounds inflicted by three years of prolonged anxiety began to heal. I probably would have killed myself if it weren't for the seven tiny pills that let me keep coding. My company launches in about two months. [not my real account]
    - pw0ncakes 16y ago
      I'm sorry to hear about this. I have had real panic attacks, and they're pretty awful. The worst part was the month during which I thought it was a physical medical condition, and the absolutely rotten quality of treatment I got in many cases. One example was (during the worst attack I ever had) a 7-hour ER wait, including 6 hours locked up in the psych ER, without being told why this was happening. Once I was able to see a doctor (1 doctor on staff for the whole psych ER) he was able to explain what was happening and why, but even then, all he could prescribe was Buspar, which doesn't do anything for panic. My experience is that the attacks don't go away entirely, but they become rarer and much more manageable. The depersonalizing attacks that feel like bad drug trips don't happen anymore for me (and stopped happening once I got appropriate medicine) because once I get to a 4 or 5 (heart racing, painful muscle tension, inability to concentrate) on the panic scale I can get it under control, taking a benzo if necessary.
      - cmp 16y ago
        Psych-ERs are some of the most dehumanizing places I've ever been, and given the start of social services in North Central Texas. shudder Unfortunately, without insurance, any prescription usually necessitates a trip. Luckily, I have my anxiety in check now that it has a name, but, I've seen too many discarded people laying on hospitals floors with sheets over their faces. My current girlfriend is a third year in med school, I've begged her to ask the other med students to be especially kind to the patients during their psych rotations.
GeoffWozniak 16y ago
That kind of flippant response is part of the reason depression and other mental health problems are still widely misunderstood.
- quellhorst 16y ago
  Can you elaborate?
  - chipsy 16y ago
    It is true that Vitamin D plays a major role in regulation of various systems, and can help to stabilize mood. I take tons of the stuff myself. That doesn't mean you should barf a "Vit D good" information packet on every story about depression, though. Without taking the time to add context, it looks rude and dismissive.
fringe128 16y ago
I'm sure these things can help but they aren't cures for depression. I exercise every day and get a lot of sun but still deal with depression and anxiety. I think that more important than sun/exercise is being around other people. Americans put such a high value on privacy to the point of isolation. I believe that that isolation allows psychological problems to come to the surface when they would otherwise not. Part of that is loneliness, part is the built in need to conform to a group's social dynamic which includes not acting crazy. Your behavior has a strong influence on your psychological state, so acting normal and happy can help regulate your moods. Not to imply that this is a cure either. Including meds, these are all just treatments and they may work better for some than for others.
- quellhorst 16y ago
  That is a great point. In my research I found that having friends that you share time with and eat with improves happiness. Also, having less stuff actually makes me happier too.
  - Alex3917 16y ago
    "Also, having less stuff actually makes me happier too." I've noticed this too. In addition to increasing cognitive load, stuff also tends to accumulate emotional baggage over time. (E.g., when your towels remind you of your ex-gf or whatever.) Just going through the house and throwing stuff out every couple years is profoundly therapeutic.

pw0ncakes 16y ago

Depression and anxiety are biological problems, at least to some extent, and people who have serious biological problems can't just "get out, get some sun and exercise". The drugs work for a lot of people, although it's essential to make lifestyle changes (exercise, sun, healthy diet) in addition to using them... but the people who are in the worst shape can't muster the energy to get out of depression until they start taking the drugs. Anti-depressants are pretty amazing-- far from a panacea, but pretty effective.

swombat 16y ago
Open air and exercise can have effects pretty comparable to many pharmaceutical remedies, for a wide range of conditions - including conditions of the mind.
- chaosmachine 16y ago
  The problem with depression is even if you know doing activity x will make it better, you're too depressed to do it.
  - pw0ncakes 16y ago
    Also, anxiety and depression are often comorbid, so a person who is depressed may come out of the depression but still have anxieties about doing the things necessary to recover. An extreme example of this is agoraphobia, where a person's anxiety reaches such an extent that he becomes unable to leave his house.
- cmp 16y ago
  Sunshine is not the best disinfectant. Last summer I had my first panic attack. Saying that, I wonder how many people who say "I had a panic attack" have ever experienced a full on, face on the floor, depersonalizing / derealizing panic attack. It felt like I was losing my mind. $250,000 in debt, followed by the disillusion of an 8 year relationship, loss of a job, and a move across the country in a three month period. Chase that with years of outright poverty (earning less than $10,000 [net] over the course of two years.) 7 days of Xanax and the wounds inflicted by three years of prolonged anxiety began to heal. I probably would have killed myself if it weren't for the seven tiny pills that let me keep coding. My company launches in about two months. [not my real account]
  - pw0ncakes 16y ago
    I'm sorry to hear about this. I have had real panic attacks, and they're pretty awful. The worst part was the month during which I thought it was a physical medical condition, and the absolutely rotten quality of treatment I got in many cases. One example was (during the worst attack I ever had) a 7-hour ER wait, including 6 hours locked up in the psych ER, without being told why this was happening. Once I was able to see a doctor (1 doctor on staff for the whole psych ER) he was able to explain what was happening and why, but even then, all he could prescribe was Buspar, which doesn't do anything for panic. My experience is that the attacks don't go away entirely, but they become rarer and much more manageable. The depersonalizing attacks that feel like bad drug trips don't happen anymore for me (and stopped happening once I got appropriate medicine) because once I get to a 4 or 5 (heart racing, painful muscle tension, inability to concentrate) on the panic scale I can get it under control, taking a benzo if necessary.
    - cmp 16y ago
      Psych-ERs are some of the most dehumanizing places I've ever been, and given the start of social services in North Central Texas. shudder Unfortunately, without insurance, any prescription usually necessitates a trip. Luckily, I have my anxiety in check now that it has a name, but, I've seen too many discarded people laying on hospitals floors with sheets over their faces. My current girlfriend is a third year in med school, I've begged her to ask the other med students to be especially kind to the patients during their psych rotations.

GeoffWozniak 16y ago

That kind of flippant response is part of the reason depression and other mental health problems are still widely misunderstood.

quellhorst 16y ago
Can you elaborate?
- chipsy 16y ago
  It is true that Vitamin D plays a major role in regulation of various systems, and can help to stabilize mood. I take tons of the stuff myself. That doesn't mean you should barf a "Vit D good" information packet on every story about depression, though. Without taking the time to add context, it looks rude and dismissive.

fringe128 16y ago

I'm sure these things can help but they aren't cures for depression. I exercise every day and get a lot of sun but still deal with depression and anxiety. I think that more important than sun/exercise is being around other people. Americans put such a high value on privacy to the point of isolation. I believe that that isolation allows psychological problems to come to the surface when they would otherwise not. Part of that is loneliness, part is the built in need to conform to a group's social dynamic which includes not acting crazy. Your behavior has a strong influence on your psychological state, so acting normal and happy can help regulate your moods. Not to imply that this is a cure either. Including meds, these are all just treatments and they may work better for some than for others.

quellhorst 16y ago
That is a great point. In my research I found that having friends that you share time with and eat with improves happiness. Also, having less stuff actually makes me happier too.
- Alex3917 16y ago
  "Also, having less stuff actually makes me happier too." I've noticed this too. In addition to increasing cognitive load, stuff also tends to accumulate emotional baggage over time. (E.g., when your towels remind you of your ex-gf or whatever.) Just going through the house and throwing stuff out every couple years is profoundly therapeutic.