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Reading these comments is forehead slap inducing. People think that just because something is mental that it has to do with your mindset, your parents, your thi

by 0F 5y ago

Reading these comments is forehead slap inducing. People think that just because something is mental that it has to do with your mindset, your parents, your this your that. When a dude can run faster than other people, it’s written off as genetics. When someone is resilient to depression, it’s anything other than genetics. Both cases are the same: it’s just biological. I’ve been suffering super hard with depression recently and it’s made something clear to me: your mindset is bullshit. It might tip things one way or another but the actual mechanisms of depression will change your life. Everyone will be super humbled when we figure out how to turn off depression, and everyone gets it and everyone experienced on average a 50% boost to their intelligence and productivity. They will be humbled because they will realize that all of that relative suffering was totally pointless and for no other reason than a quirk of evolution. And that some people had it good for absolutely no reason. But it’s exciting to know that this day will come and it can’t come fast enough for me!

arius 5y ago
Depression, like your sports analogy, is not only rooted in genetics but also in the environment. While you can act on your environment, you can't act on genetics for now. Focusing on what is in one's reach is the only thing one can do. Being certain that the cause is out of our control (while true for parts of it) is in itself something fueling depression.
- 0F 5y ago
  No no no. Nobody is fully aware of the situation but choosing to focus on what they can control. Most of the people in the first world who suffer from depression don’t even realize they have depression. Depression and mindset and sadness are are muddled together in our lexicon — the thing I’m pointing out is that most people don’t even know the truth. For me, knowing that it’s not my actions causing me to feel this way is what saves me. Because for a long time I blamed myself because of the mass ignorance we harbor. The whole reason for the muddling is that the mind naturally tries to put together cause and effect and so depression can hide that way. It’s a fight of intuition against science.
  - philosopher1234 5y ago
    But it is, in part, your actions. The evidence does not support claiming depression is purely biological. That, however, doesn't mean blame is helpful or appropriate.
- civilized 5y ago
  Meh... you're teaching depressed people to focus on changing things to improve their environment. Maybe some of them can't and the best thing for them to do is accept it, even if it is a substantial drain on their productivity and life quality. Indeed there are some therapeutic approaches that do exactly this (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Obsessing over an intractable problem as if it can be improved can make the problem worse.
  - baby 5y ago
    He’s actually talking about stoicism, which is to accept what you can’t change.
    - layer8 5y ago
      Depressed people tend to underestimate what they can change, which complicates the matter.
      - baby 5y ago
        It’s not about a simple trick, it’s about a shift of mentality akin to finding a religion.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
lokalfarm 5y ago
Showing you some love... Keep fighting the good fight =]
slothtrop 5y ago
Some people are more susceptible to depression, that's clear. You mentioned mindset, but therapy approaches are not tantamount to just "rationalizing" your way out of depression. If it were that simple no one would be depressed. Interventions are a multi-pronged approach, but for those dealing with cognitive factors, they apply training with workbook exercises. The CBT way is to learn to recognize distorted unrealistic thinking, there are also approaches that attempt to mitigate automatic thinking or the emotional reaction to it. Bottom line is the research suggests this is generally effective.
johndevor 5y ago
> it’s just biological. According to the ACE study, your early childhood environment has a dramatic effect on your life outcome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_childhood_experiences#Adverse_Childhood_Experiences_Study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_childhood_experiences#...
deltaonefour 5y ago
Change your environment. Move to another country and reinvent your identity. This can change your mindset. I think the misnomer is that mindset can be changed by willpower alone. They are wrong. Soldiers in the Vietnam war all did heroin. When they returned to the US people thought we'd have a heroin epidemic. Turns out the change in environment rewired there brains. Try it.
- fzzzy 5y ago
  Abandon all of your friends and family?
sapientiae3 5y ago
I once heard someone say that depression is a spiritual problem, as in the cause lies with your relationship (or lack there of) with a higher power. I just had a thought - what if there is a biological or evolutionary quirk that believing in a higher power results in more happiness? It would certainly explain why some people who seem to have a supernatural outlook are so happy dispite what seems like terrible suffering. E.g. Carlo Acutis [1] was known for his cheerfulness despite suffering and dying from leukaemia. [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Acutis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Acutis Edit: spelling
- layer8 5y ago
  Kierkegaard would beg to differ. :)
n4kana 5y ago
Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!
quantified 5y ago
There appear to be many different causes for depression. The day may come when it’s either curable for all the causes or at least the symptoms can be removed. If faith in that day is needed to survive until then, have that faith. It is so pointless. Why does it occur more than its opposite?

by 0F 5y ago

arius 5y ago

Depression, like your sports analogy, is not only rooted in genetics but also in the environment. While you can act on your environment, you can't act on genetics for now. Focusing on what is in one's reach is the only thing one can do. Being certain that the cause is out of our control (while true for parts of it) is in itself something fueling depression.

0F 5y ago
No no no. Nobody is fully aware of the situation but choosing to focus on what they can control. Most of the people in the first world who suffer from depression don’t even realize they have depression. Depression and mindset and sadness are are muddled together in our lexicon — the thing I’m pointing out is that most people don’t even know the truth. For me, knowing that it’s not my actions causing me to feel this way is what saves me. Because for a long time I blamed myself because of the mass ignorance we harbor. The whole reason for the muddling is that the mind naturally tries to put together cause and effect and so depression can hide that way. It’s a fight of intuition against science.
- philosopher1234 5y ago
  But it is, in part, your actions. The evidence does not support claiming depression is purely biological. That, however, doesn't mean blame is helpful or appropriate.
civilized 5y ago
Meh... you're teaching depressed people to focus on changing things to improve their environment. Maybe some of them can't and the best thing for them to do is accept it, even if it is a substantial drain on their productivity and life quality. Indeed there are some therapeutic approaches that do exactly this (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). Obsessing over an intractable problem as if it can be improved can make the problem worse.
- baby 5y ago
  He’s actually talking about stoicism, which is to accept what you can’t change.
  - layer8 5y ago
    Depressed people tend to underestimate what they can change, which complicates the matter.
    - baby 5y ago
      It’s not about a simple trick, it’s about a shift of mentality akin to finding a religion.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

lokalfarm 5y ago

Showing you some love... Keep fighting the good fight =]

slothtrop 5y ago

Some people are more susceptible to depression, that's clear. You mentioned mindset, but therapy approaches are not tantamount to just "rationalizing" your way out of depression. If it were that simple no one would be depressed. Interventions are a multi-pronged approach, but for those dealing with cognitive factors, they apply training with workbook exercises. The CBT way is to learn to recognize distorted unrealistic thinking, there are also approaches that attempt to mitigate automatic thinking or the emotional reaction to it. Bottom line is the research suggests this is generally effective.

johndevor 5y ago

> it’s just biological. According to the ACE study, your early childhood environment has a dramatic effect on your life outcome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_childhood_experiences#Adverse_Childhood_Experiences_Study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_childhood_experiences#...

deltaonefour 5y ago

Change your environment. Move to another country and reinvent your identity. This can change your mindset. I think the misnomer is that mindset can be changed by willpower alone. They are wrong. Soldiers in the Vietnam war all did heroin. When they returned to the US people thought we'd have a heroin epidemic. Turns out the change in environment rewired there brains. Try it.

fzzzy 5y ago
Abandon all of your friends and family?

sapientiae3 5y ago

I once heard someone say that depression is a spiritual problem, as in the cause lies with your relationship (or lack there of) with a higher power. I just had a thought - what if there is a biological or evolutionary quirk that believing in a higher power results in more happiness? It would certainly explain why some people who seem to have a supernatural outlook are so happy dispite what seems like terrible suffering. E.g. Carlo Acutis [1] was known for his cheerfulness despite suffering and dying from leukaemia. [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Acutis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Acutis Edit: spelling

layer8 5y ago
Kierkegaard would beg to differ. :)

n4kana 5y ago

Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!

quantified 5y ago

There appear to be many different causes for depression. The day may come when it’s either curable for all the causes or at least the symptoms can be removed. If faith in that day is needed to survive until then, have that faith. It is so pointless. Why does it occur more than its opposite?