You're mentioning some very important points, but I disagree that stories like these are not helpful. The first step to treating complex problems like these is

You're mentioning some very important points, but I disagree that stories like these are not helpful. The first step to treating complex problems like these is acknowledging that they exist in the first place. The second step is to create an environment where it is okay to open up about mental health issues. Both of these points are addressed by this story. You're talking about the third step, which is ensuring an environment where people can get the correct treatments and address the issues in a helpful way. I think this is vital to ensure that most people who suffer from anxiety, recurring depressive episodes or other symptoms that are triggered by a hard-and-fast lifestyle, get lasting benefit from treatment. The problem is, most Americans (and Hacker News is in no way an exception to this) are stuck somewhere before point 1 and 2. So just opening the discussion up a little, is in fact moving in the right direction. Although I do agree that someone should point out that "just be cheerful", "just talk to somebody", "just take a holiday" is dangerous advice which only serves to sometimes reduce the pressure a little. Doing things like these rarely addresses the underlying issues (unlucky genetics, unrealistic ambitions, unhealthy lifestyle, self-destructive thought patterns, unresolved relationship to traumatic memories, etc).