5 ms·

The problem is that depression by definition makes it 100x harder to do any of those things.

by Sharlin 8mo ago

joe_mamba 8mo ago
Well yeah, but you gotta start somewhere, and it's not gonna get better if you drink cola, beer everyday and stay up until 2AM watching netflix.
- rincebrain 8mo ago
  I think GP's point is that "just do it" shows a lack of understanding that an inability to "just do X" is often a symptom of depression that leads to people not talking about it, because people who haven't experienced it think you must be lying about having decided to do something and not actually then doing it. Consider: there was a study about a guy who was paralyzed from the waist down, who got an implant to bypass the injury, and with a year+ of walking with the implant, could eventually walk to a limited extent without the implant.[1] This suggests walking can be used to treat loss of ability to walk. Unfortunately, there's a catch-22 there... ...and so too with inability to make yourself do anything. [1] - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06094-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06094-5
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]
- jmye 8mo ago
  > Well yeah, but you gotta start somewhere Wait, I thought those things solved depression? Why are you hedging now? Did your initial analysis suck, and you're just now realizing it? Are you figuring out that maybe this is slightly more complex than "just be happy" and that maybe you're not the only person on the planet who's ever thought about this?
  - joe_mamba 8mo ago
    Your comment makes no sense. I never said "just be happy". Reformulate it and add more substance so we have something to talk about.
    - jmye 8mo ago
      Why do you think I have the responsibility to "add substance" to your non-substantive load of shit? You may not have said the literal words "be happy", but that is precisely what your "medical advice" amounted to. Perhaps it's time to stop having big, strident opinions about things you know you know absolutely nothing about?
magicalhippo 8mo ago
In my case it wasn't that they were hard to do, it was more that I just didn't have the motivation to do them. The change needed was to actually have a reason to start doing any of them. For me, that started with being honest with myself. Deep down inside I knew the reason for my depression, I "just" had to be honest about it to be able to take control over it. Once I did that I gained some motivation to do those things on that list, and so I started doing them. And slowly but surely I got out of my hole. Every now and then I notice I'm halfway back down a hole. I stopped doing those things. Again I have to be honest with myself about why, and with that I can start the climb back out, starting exercising again, eating better etc.
- jaapz 8mo ago
  I was typing something a bit snarky, but I went back and thought a little and I just want to say good for you on getting out of that hole and I hope you stay out of it!
  - deleted 8mo ago
    [deleted]

The problem is that depression by definition makes it 100x harder to do any of those things.

by Sharlin 8mo ago

The problem is that depression by definition makes it 100x harder to do any of those things.

Well yeah, but you gotta start somewhere, and it's not gonna get better if you drink cola, beer everyday and stay up until 2AM watching netflix.

rincebrain 8mo ago
I think GP's point is that "just do it" shows a lack of understanding that an inability to "just do X" is often a symptom of depression that leads to people not talking about it, because people who haven't experienced it think you must be lying about having decided to do something and not actually then doing it. Consider: there was a study about a guy who was paralyzed from the waist down, who got an implant to bypass the injury, and with a year+ of walking with the implant, could eventually walk to a limited extent without the implant.[1] This suggests walking can be used to treat loss of ability to walk. Unfortunately, there's a catch-22 there... ...and so too with inability to make yourself do anything. [1] - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06094-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06094-5
deleted 8mo ago
[deleted]
jmye 8mo ago
> Well yeah, but you gotta start somewhere Wait, I thought those things solved depression? Why are you hedging now? Did your initial analysis suck, and you're just now realizing it? Are you figuring out that maybe this is slightly more complex than "just be happy" and that maybe you're not the only person on the planet who's ever thought about this?
- joe_mamba 8mo ago
  Your comment makes no sense. I never said "just be happy". Reformulate it and add more substance so we have something to talk about.
  - jmye 8mo ago
    Why do you think I have the responsibility to "add substance" to your non-substantive load of shit? You may not have said the literal words "be happy", but that is precisely what your "medical advice" amounted to. Perhaps it's time to stop having big, strident opinions about things you know you know absolutely nothing about?

magicalhippo 8mo ago

In my case it wasn't that they were hard to do, it was more that I just didn't have the motivation to do them. The change needed was to actually have a reason to start doing any of them. For me, that started with being honest with myself. Deep down inside I knew the reason for my depression, I "just" had to be honest about it to be able to take control over it. Once I did that I gained some motivation to do those things on that list, and so I started doing them. And slowly but surely I got out of my hole. Every now and then I notice I'm halfway back down a hole. I stopped doing those things. Again I have to be honest with myself about why, and with that I can start the climb back out, starting exercising again, eating better etc.

jaapz 8mo ago
I was typing something a bit snarky, but I went back and thought a little and I just want to say good for you on getting out of that hole and I hope you stay out of it!
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]