5 ms·

> Am I just hard-wired to be mediocre? Have you considered the possibility that you're actually clinically depressed? Working on the assumption you are male, I

by ecjhdnc2025 2y ago

> Am I just hard-wired to be mediocre? Have you considered the possibility that you're actually clinically depressed? Working on the assumption you are male, I think a lot of guys don't realise that low-grade depression looks like this for a lot of us. Especially getting towards mid-life. One thing I would suggest is to embrace boredom. Cover up your television, delete your streaming video apps, cut back on social media as much as is possible, stop gaming if you game. Stop avoiding boredom with low-energy solutions. Get really, really bored. Then see what your brain wants you to do. Boredom is a precursor to a creative state. Another thought: consider if your "worthwhile" is actually helping other people do theirs? If you can learn new tools and languages easily, could you help others? Could you teach? I need this change in my life too, and this is the direction I hope my life is heading in.

h2core 2y ago
can we stop diagnosing unknown people based on a 2 paragraph post on HN? the obsession with finding a label for all sorts of mental states is crazy. I agree with the rest of your post though
- meiraleal 2y ago
  we should also stop treating depression as the ultimate disease,
  - GaryNumanVevo 2y ago
    Depression is definitely real, and fairly easy to diagnose for.
    - meiraleal 2y ago
      Absolutely real. So real that every human being will be depressed sometime in their life. It is just one of multiple mental states we have in our framework.
      - datameta 2y ago
        And just like any physical pathology, people deserve to recognize and address depression if they experience it.
      - Yawrehto 2y ago
        Nope. There's a difference between being sad and being clinically depressed, there's a difference between being distracted and having ADHD, there's a difference between worrying and having OCD, there's a difference between not wanting to eat a particular meal and having anorexia or ARFID. Please. Having a mental disorder is stigmatized enough already. Please don't play into it by implying it's not real.
        meiraleal 2y ago
        [flagged]
- jimbomins 2y ago
  I wouldn't call it diagnosing. Just suggesting they consider it. Personally it all sounds very familiar. So familiar I'd admit I'm mildly depressed. But I do still have a pad of good ideas that I add to. Also very interesting is that yes even with ideas I'm not good at doing them - but the suggestion that their thing might be the enabling others to achieve theirs really sticks out for me. I'm definitely at my best helping others to do better. All in I'd say it was a good response.
  - ecjhdnc2025 2y ago
    Thank you.
- ecjhdnc2025 2y ago
  Can we stop dismissively projecting pet peeve interpretations onto posts that aren't worthy of them? I didn't say "you are depressed". I said "have you considered that you might be...". When did that become diagnosis? FWIW I said "clinically depressed" to draw the specific distinction between colloquial use of the word "depressed" meaning "down", and the medical notion of depression that covers this sort of stuff -- long term loss of direction, low self-esteem negativity etc. It's just a suggestion to consider the whole picture and maybe seek advice.
  - hju22_-3 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - ecjhdnc2025 2y ago
      It's not a matter of "I didn't technically say". I didn't diagnose. I made a suggestion. Full fucking stop. I didn't imply a diagnosis. I suggested the possibility (I even used that fucking word). That he might want to think about it. Because the entire tone of the OP's question suggested it to me. Based on my own miserable lived experience of the last two years, for what it is worth. So fuck off with this po-faced internet warrior shit.
      - hju22_-3 2y ago
        [flagged]
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
Crier1002 2y ago
just wanted to say actively trying to get bored is some of the best things that i've done for myself as an adult in a dopamine-driven world (exercising aside). i'm not saying to do nothing at all, but trying to be bore yourself whenever you're off work. some examples are like instead of scrolling your phone whenever you're in public transit, just do nothing.

h2core 2y ago

can we stop diagnosing unknown people based on a 2 paragraph post on HN? the obsession with finding a label for all sorts of mental states is crazy. I agree with the rest of your post though

meiraleal 2y ago
we should also stop treating depression as the ultimate disease,
- GaryNumanVevo 2y ago
  Depression is definitely real, and fairly easy to diagnose for.
  - meiraleal 2y ago
    Absolutely real. So real that every human being will be depressed sometime in their life. It is just one of multiple mental states we have in our framework.
    - datameta 2y ago
      And just like any physical pathology, people deserve to recognize and address depression if they experience it.
    - Yawrehto 2y ago
      Nope. There's a difference between being sad and being clinically depressed, there's a difference between being distracted and having ADHD, there's a difference between worrying and having OCD, there's a difference between not wanting to eat a particular meal and having anorexia or ARFID. Please. Having a mental disorder is stigmatized enough already. Please don't play into it by implying it's not real.
      - meiraleal 2y ago
        [flagged]
jimbomins 2y ago
I wouldn't call it diagnosing. Just suggesting they consider it. Personally it all sounds very familiar. So familiar I'd admit I'm mildly depressed. But I do still have a pad of good ideas that I add to. Also very interesting is that yes even with ideas I'm not good at doing them - but the suggestion that their thing might be the enabling others to achieve theirs really sticks out for me. I'm definitely at my best helping others to do better. All in I'd say it was a good response.
- ecjhdnc2025 2y ago
  Thank you.
ecjhdnc2025 2y ago
Can we stop dismissively projecting pet peeve interpretations onto posts that aren't worthy of them? I didn't say "you are depressed". I said "have you considered that you might be...". When did that become diagnosis? FWIW I said "clinically depressed" to draw the specific distinction between colloquial use of the word "depressed" meaning "down", and the medical notion of depression that covers this sort of stuff -- long term loss of direction, low self-esteem negativity etc. It's just a suggestion to consider the whole picture and maybe seek advice.
- hju22_-3 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - ecjhdnc2025 2y ago
    It's not a matter of "I didn't technically say". I didn't diagnose. I made a suggestion. Full fucking stop. I didn't imply a diagnosis. I suggested the possibility (I even used that fucking word). That he might want to think about it. Because the entire tone of the OP's question suggested it to me. Based on my own miserable lived experience of the last two years, for what it is worth. So fuck off with this po-faced internet warrior shit.
    - hju22_-3 2y ago
      [flagged]
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]

Crier1002 2y ago

just wanted to say actively trying to get bored is some of the best things that i've done for myself as an adult in a dopamine-driven world (exercising aside). i'm not saying to do nothing at all, but trying to be bore yourself whenever you're off work. some examples are like instead of scrolling your phone whenever you're in public transit, just do nothing.