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Jesus, man. You shouldn't sell yourself short with a title like that; makes it sound like some random MySpace post when it's one of the best personal blog posts

Jesus, man. You shouldn't sell yourself short with a title like that; makes it sound like some random MySpace post when it's one of the best personal blog posts I've read. I'm 18, and this pretty much describes the last four months of my life (since starting at a soul-crushing community college). That depression -> realization -> joy -> productivity -> slipping -> depression cycle is something I've become intimately familiar with. I've considered therapy, of course, but I keep hoping it's short-term, and I don't necessarily want to spend the money if I have the ability to tame it myself. edit: glad to see you changed the title :)

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
alecbenzer 15y ago
Actually I didn't change the title. I guess a mod or something did?
- avolcano 15y ago
  Ah, ok. Seriously, though, that's a damn fine piece of writing. Put into words something I've never been able to.
  - arborist 15y ago
    same
- jcitme 15y ago
  Wait, what was the original title?
georgieporgie 15y ago
I've considered therapy, of course, but I keep hoping it's short-term, and I don't necessarily want to spend the money if I have the ability to tame it myself. I urge you to seek out some low-cost options for counseling, if only to get an objective opinion of where you're at. Time is money, after all, and you can either spend a bit now, or waste all those hours of life continuing to feel bad.
- 9085 15y ago
  Therapy? What about a close friend? Relative? Hell, even just pausing a moment to self reflect is better than therapy. Use community before you seek "professionals".
  - mechanical_fish 15y ago
    Why tell someone who has just posted a self-reflective essay to the internet to... Self-reflect and share the problem with non-professionals? They're evidently trying that already. In the general case it is a poor idea to refer people to their own families. This is sometimes hard for those of us with happy and supportive families to remember, but a lot of folks have problems that are caused by their families. And remember that seeing more of the people one is already seeing may not be a cure for depression. To fix depression you have to change something. As for why pros are useful, in any field: They have likely seen thousands of people with your problem; they know a larger list of things to try; they know how to start out with the cheap and simple options but are also aware of how to escalate and have experience with escalation and know the consequences of non-escalation; they aren't involved in your life and can therefore act more freely and with fewer conflicts of interest; they have access to important tools that non-pros do not (in the case of mental health professionals this includes drugs, like the drugs that have improved the lives of so many people I know); they take the problem seriously; merely visiting one will help you confront your problem (the twelve-step programs aren't just being glib: admitting you have a problem really is the first step - once you take conscious, subconscious, and social ownership of a problem it's amazing how often you can fix it yourself). And, most important of all, in the mental health field pros are not on the effing Internet. They are morally, professionally, and legally compelled to avoid publicly talking about you, or talking to your friends, or even being in the same room with you outside of therapy. The same cannot be said of your friends or family, let alone of random jerks like myself on Hacker News. Now, having delivered the most epic disclaimer in HN history, I'll point out that the commenter above (unlike the person who wrote the submitted blog post) evidently knows the cause of his or her own distress; it is sitting there in the comment in black and white. Brainstorming what to do about it might be better done by a discreet, independent observer who is actually on the scene, however.
nbashaw 15y ago
What was the original title on the HN post?
- alecbenzer 15y ago
  "Ramblings of a depressed teenager"

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

alecbenzer 15y ago

Actually I didn't change the title. I guess a mod or something did?

avolcano 15y ago
Ah, ok. Seriously, though, that's a damn fine piece of writing. Put into words something I've never been able to.
- arborist 15y ago
  same
jcitme 15y ago
Wait, what was the original title?

georgieporgie 15y ago

I've considered therapy, of course, but I keep hoping it's short-term, and I don't necessarily want to spend the money if I have the ability to tame it myself. I urge you to seek out some low-cost options for counseling, if only to get an objective opinion of where you're at. Time is money, after all, and you can either spend a bit now, or waste all those hours of life continuing to feel bad.

9085 15y ago
Therapy? What about a close friend? Relative? Hell, even just pausing a moment to self reflect is better than therapy. Use community before you seek "professionals".
- mechanical_fish 15y ago
  Why tell someone who has just posted a self-reflective essay to the internet to... Self-reflect and share the problem with non-professionals? They're evidently trying that already. In the general case it is a poor idea to refer people to their own families. This is sometimes hard for those of us with happy and supportive families to remember, but a lot of folks have problems that are caused by their families. And remember that seeing more of the people one is already seeing may not be a cure for depression. To fix depression you have to change something. As for why pros are useful, in any field: They have likely seen thousands of people with your problem; they know a larger list of things to try; they know how to start out with the cheap and simple options but are also aware of how to escalate and have experience with escalation and know the consequences of non-escalation; they aren't involved in your life and can therefore act more freely and with fewer conflicts of interest; they have access to important tools that non-pros do not (in the case of mental health professionals this includes drugs, like the drugs that have improved the lives of so many people I know); they take the problem seriously; merely visiting one will help you confront your problem (the twelve-step programs aren't just being glib: admitting you have a problem really is the first step - once you take conscious, subconscious, and social ownership of a problem it's amazing how often you can fix it yourself). And, most important of all, in the mental health field pros are not on the effing Internet. They are morally, professionally, and legally compelled to avoid publicly talking about you, or talking to your friends, or even being in the same room with you outside of therapy. The same cannot be said of your friends or family, let alone of random jerks like myself on Hacker News. Now, having delivered the most epic disclaimer in HN history, I'll point out that the commenter above (unlike the person who wrote the submitted blog post) evidently knows the cause of his or her own distress; it is sitting there in the comment in black and white. Brainstorming what to do about it might be better done by a discreet, independent observer who is actually on the scene, however.

nbashaw 15y ago

What was the original title on the HN post?

alecbenzer 15y ago
"Ramblings of a depressed teenager"