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A UK doctor friend mentioned they believed a lot of people being prescribed anti-depressants were suffering from "shit life syndrome" rather than real depressio

A UK doctor friend mentioned they believed a lot of people being prescribed anti-depressants were suffering from "shit life syndrome" rather than real depression. This wasn't to belittle the issues but rather to highlight the issues they maybe facing, which society doesn't deem valuable enough to fix and the GP is one of the only perceived options they have for help.

only-one1701 10mo ago
This is correct. It’s amazing how easy it is to relax when you don’t feel economic precarity etc.
- carlmr 10mo ago
  This is also why I kind of hate it when rich people say that money doesn't make you happy. It's true, it doesn't but if you don't know how to pay for your next meal or worse your kids next meal, or you're sick and can't afford good care, then money does make all the difference. In mathematical terms money might not be sufficient to make you happy, but it's a necessary condition indeed.
  - only-one1701 10mo ago
    Yeah, and like, a nontrivial amount of it tbqh
  - mettamage 10mo ago
    Ah thanks for putting it into the necessary/sufficient vocab. Makes so much more sense to explain it that way.
  - nlawalker 10mo ago
    “Having money isn’t everything, not having it is” - Kanye West
voisin 10mo ago
It’s almost like we are not optimizing society for human flourishing.
- candiddevmike 10mo ago
  We are optimizing society for some human flourishing.
  - TimorousBestie 10mo ago
    It’s hard to believe that even the billionaires are flourishing. Musk certainly doesn’t seem to be a poster child for eudaimonia, being allegedly addicted to drugs.
    - daymanstep 10mo ago
      He can retire whenever he wants.
    - krapp 10mo ago
      The purpose of capitalism is the flourishing of the capitalist classes. The labor classes only need to be maintained like machines or draft animals, kept just alive and well enough to afford the rent on their lives so they can continue to create value. The collective reactions to this aren't mental illness, they're trauma responses. Capitalism is accelerating towards its final form and the shock is giving people PTSD.
    - gtowey 10mo ago
      Anyone who makes like 100 million dollars and thinks to themselves "this isn't enough money to stop working and just enjoy life" has something seriously wrong with them. The billionaire class will never be happy, and it's time for society to stop letting these loonies ruin society to satisfy their insanity.
      - voisin 10mo ago
        I think it is far to keep working if you love what you are doing. To filter, there should be an absolute cap on wealth at a few hundred million dollars. This would eliminate the incentive to manipulate politics in favour of yourself, but if you want to keep working you should be doing it for society via charity or taxes on anything additional that is earned. Have a nice ceremony and present a medal for winning capitalism.
echelon_musk 10mo ago
It's just common sense that things would not be geared toward the patient's best outcome. It's easier (read: cheaper) for the broken NHS and cash strapped government to shovel pills than it is to get someone to revamp their life. Imagine the alternative cost of talking therapies for the NHS. There are three year waiting lists for them already. Depression usually occurs for a causal reason, it just may not have been found for the individual yet. It could be poor diet, lack of exercise, excessive escapism as a response to unprocessed trauma etc. Ultimately though these causes require the patient to exert effort toward improving their life, and so they have to have willpower and motivation. Thankfully exercise can now be prescribed by doctors in the UK!
- robocat 10mo ago
  > exercise can now be prescribed by doctors in the UK https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/22/gps-to-prescribe-walking-and-cycling-in-bid-to-ease-burden-on-nhs https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/22/gps-to-presc...
techblueberry 10mo ago
I feel like there’s a balance between —- a thing that really helped me in life was seeing a therapist in my early twenties who really validated a lot of my struggles and take them seriously. But also, kept me from going to far in the other direction of wallowing or being driven by a label. Part of the problem is the medical system doesn’t have great language around this, I think in America in order for insurance to pay for therapy there has to be diagnosis. My therapists solution to that was to provide a diagnosis but we didn’t really lean into it, he just explained that’s the process. But the language around diagnosis unfortunately has implicitly power. We probably should talk about mental illness much less that way.
- lostmsu 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - cocainemonster 10mo ago
    won't someone think of the insurance companies?
    - array_key_first 10mo ago
      The sheer level of aggressive bootlicking I occasionally run into on hackernews is mind-boggling.
    - lostmsu 10mo ago
      Do you understand the consequences of insurance companies or government paying for something that does not need medical intervention en masse? Where do you think they get money to do that?
  - techblueberry 10mo ago
    Where’s the fraud? I had the listed condition, but even physical diagnosis don’t have to define you. I’m plenty capable of policing my own moral failings thank you very much.
  - 10mo ago

only-one1701 10mo ago

This is correct. It’s amazing how easy it is to relax when you don’t feel economic precarity etc.

carlmr 10mo ago
This is also why I kind of hate it when rich people say that money doesn't make you happy. It's true, it doesn't but if you don't know how to pay for your next meal or worse your kids next meal, or you're sick and can't afford good care, then money does make all the difference. In mathematical terms money might not be sufficient to make you happy, but it's a necessary condition indeed.
- only-one1701 10mo ago
  Yeah, and like, a nontrivial amount of it tbqh
- mettamage 10mo ago
  Ah thanks for putting it into the necessary/sufficient vocab. Makes so much more sense to explain it that way.
- nlawalker 10mo ago
  “Having money isn’t everything, not having it is” - Kanye West

voisin 10mo ago

It’s almost like we are not optimizing society for human flourishing.

candiddevmike 10mo ago
We are optimizing society for some human flourishing.
- TimorousBestie 10mo ago
  It’s hard to believe that even the billionaires are flourishing. Musk certainly doesn’t seem to be a poster child for eudaimonia, being allegedly addicted to drugs.
  - daymanstep 10mo ago
    He can retire whenever he wants.
  - krapp 10mo ago
    The purpose of capitalism is the flourishing of the capitalist classes. The labor classes only need to be maintained like machines or draft animals, kept just alive and well enough to afford the rent on their lives so they can continue to create value. The collective reactions to this aren't mental illness, they're trauma responses. Capitalism is accelerating towards its final form and the shock is giving people PTSD.
  - gtowey 10mo ago
    Anyone who makes like 100 million dollars and thinks to themselves "this isn't enough money to stop working and just enjoy life" has something seriously wrong with them. The billionaire class will never be happy, and it's time for society to stop letting these loonies ruin society to satisfy their insanity.
    - voisin 10mo ago
      I think it is far to keep working if you love what you are doing. To filter, there should be an absolute cap on wealth at a few hundred million dollars. This would eliminate the incentive to manipulate politics in favour of yourself, but if you want to keep working you should be doing it for society via charity or taxes on anything additional that is earned. Have a nice ceremony and present a medal for winning capitalism.

echelon_musk 10mo ago

It's just common sense that things would not be geared toward the patient's best outcome. It's easier (read: cheaper) for the broken NHS and cash strapped government to shovel pills than it is to get someone to revamp their life. Imagine the alternative cost of talking therapies for the NHS. There are three year waiting lists for them already. Depression usually occurs for a causal reason, it just may not have been found for the individual yet. It could be poor diet, lack of exercise, excessive escapism as a response to unprocessed trauma etc. Ultimately though these causes require the patient to exert effort toward improving their life, and so they have to have willpower and motivation. Thankfully exercise can now be prescribed by doctors in the UK!

robocat 10mo ago
> exercise can now be prescribed by doctors in the UK https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/22/gps-to-prescribe-walking-and-cycling-in-bid-to-ease-burden-on-nhs https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/22/gps-to-presc...

techblueberry 10mo ago

I feel like there’s a balance between —- a thing that really helped me in life was seeing a therapist in my early twenties who really validated a lot of my struggles and take them seriously. But also, kept me from going to far in the other direction of wallowing or being driven by a label. Part of the problem is the medical system doesn’t have great language around this, I think in America in order for insurance to pay for therapy there has to be diagnosis. My therapists solution to that was to provide a diagnosis but we didn’t really lean into it, he just explained that’s the process. But the language around diagnosis unfortunately has implicitly power. We probably should talk about mental illness much less that way.

lostmsu 10mo ago
[flagged]
- cocainemonster 10mo ago
  won't someone think of the insurance companies?
  - array_key_first 10mo ago
    The sheer level of aggressive bootlicking I occasionally run into on hackernews is mind-boggling.
  - lostmsu 10mo ago
    Do you understand the consequences of insurance companies or government paying for something that does not need medical intervention en masse? Where do you think they get money to do that?
- techblueberry 10mo ago
  Where’s the fraud? I had the listed condition, but even physical diagnosis don’t have to define you. I’m plenty capable of policing my own moral failings thank you very much.
- 10mo ago