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> you shouldn't need a therapist to figure this one out. A reasonable amount of exercise is good for pretty much everyone. People with clinical depression aren

> you shouldn't need a therapist to figure this one out. A reasonable amount of exercise is good for pretty much everyone. People with clinical depression aren't those who _can_ easily hit the gym for that dopamine rush. "Some sport is usually not a bad idea" is not the hard part, getting to the point where it can be implemented is. And if that is the problem, and none of the pep talks on hacker news over the last few years helped, why not try the therapist?

projektir 9y ago
> People with clinical depression aren't those who _can_ easily hit the gym for that dopamine rush. This is not accurate, depression is just not clear cut like that. A depressed person can be fully high-functioning from the outside, even... Quite a few people don't exercise for other reasons (time, aversion), in fact, I'd say those are all much more likely reasons than depression, but may also lead to depression.
- rrix2 9y ago
  It's almost like there's not a single good answer like saying "all ya gotta do is go out there and buck up and excercise!!". Like any sickness, you talk to a health professional and figure out what treatments work. Going your own sucks and is a bad time regardless of how highly-functioning you are.
sooheon 9y ago
I understand where you're coming from, but I'll just point out that you can reverse the activities and make the same point: "People with depression aren't those who can easily just hit up a therapist and continue going and get well. If that's too much of a social burden, why not try just going for a bike ride?"
- pgeorgi 9y ago
  keywords: "And if [getting sports implemented] is the problem" I never said not to do sports (neither did the article: it merely pointed out that telling people to "_just_ do sports" may not be helpful) and I never tried to sell a silver bullet. This is unlike the inevitable influx of comments in the style of "ignore therapy, just imitate my sports routine, and if you can't, just try harder". Those appear under _every_ depression-related submission on hacker news. Those comments are harmful: therapy already comes with stigma, so it's not the obvious route - unlike, as you can see here, sports. Everybody proposes sports, healthy eating habits and regular sleep (btw: what about the depressed who can easily sleep 20 hours a day, should they just get one more nap?). Reinforcing the stigma around therapy discourages folks from taking a route that might help them. The "just try harder" angle that's all too often seen in such comments is also harmful: What do you think did those people do (often for years) before they consciously consider that something might be wrong with them? Exactly: they buckled up and tried harder - and they will continue until they crack unless something changes fundamentally.

projektir 9y ago

> People with clinical depression aren't those who _can_ easily hit the gym for that dopamine rush. This is not accurate, depression is just not clear cut like that. A depressed person can be fully high-functioning from the outside, even... Quite a few people don't exercise for other reasons (time, aversion), in fact, I'd say those are all much more likely reasons than depression, but may also lead to depression.

rrix2 9y ago
It's almost like there's not a single good answer like saying "all ya gotta do is go out there and buck up and excercise!!". Like any sickness, you talk to a health professional and figure out what treatments work. Going your own sucks and is a bad time regardless of how highly-functioning you are.

sooheon 9y ago

I understand where you're coming from, but I'll just point out that you can reverse the activities and make the same point: "People with depression aren't those who can easily just hit up a therapist and continue going and get well. If that's too much of a social burden, why not try just going for a bike ride?"

pgeorgi 9y ago
keywords: "And if [getting sports implemented] is the problem" I never said not to do sports (neither did the article: it merely pointed out that telling people to "_just_ do sports" may not be helpful) and I never tried to sell a silver bullet. This is unlike the inevitable influx of comments in the style of "ignore therapy, just imitate my sports routine, and if you can't, just try harder". Those appear under _every_ depression-related submission on hacker news. Those comments are harmful: therapy already comes with stigma, so it's not the obvious route - unlike, as you can see here, sports. Everybody proposes sports, healthy eating habits and regular sleep (btw: what about the depressed who can easily sleep 20 hours a day, should they just get one more nap?). Reinforcing the stigma around therapy discourages folks from taking a route that might help them. The "just try harder" angle that's all too often seen in such comments is also harmful: What do you think did those people do (often for years) before they consciously consider that something might be wrong with them? Exactly: they buckled up and tried harder - and they will continue until they crack unless something changes fundamentally.