4 ms·

This along with all the other articles about how it's OK to be sad, depressed, burnt out, unable to focus, disinterested and demotivated are complete bullshit.

This along with all the other articles about how it's OK to be sad, depressed, burnt out, unable to focus, disinterested and demotivated are complete bullshit. We're living in a society where we no longer have any real battles to fight and our culture is starting to conjure imaginary problems out of thin air and then come up with creative ways to solve them. "...even a random snide comment take up most of our psychic space, leaving little room for compliments or pleasant experiences to help us along life’s challenging path." Here, have a strong cup of toughen-the-fuck-up. PS: The fact that you're finding this at the bottom of the page and greyed out is a case in point on how HN has fallen in love with self pity. (Not an edit)

31reasons 12y ago
I am not sure if you are being ironic with your PS or not but you assumed negatively how HN will respond to your comment.
- dang 12y ago
  It's a variant of Muphry's Law.
drdeadringer 12y ago
What if I told you that "toughen-the-fuck-up" does little to address positively actual depression and burn out?
- Swizec 12y ago
  As a person who was both actually depressed and actually burnt out (separate occasions, yay). Toughening the fuck up was the only thing that actually helped. As a fictional man with a steel jaw and a nose that was never broken in over 50 fights once said "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep going forward"
  - dbshapco 12y ago
    Yes, wear your opponents out, Thunderbolt. It only takes getting up one more time than they knock you down.
- mmaunder 12y ago
  I've watched a perfectly healthy young man of 15 get a diagnosis of depression from a doctor and was given a prescription of Prozac. We tore up the script and told him it was exam stress and he was fine. Still is 8 years later and kicking ass. Life is tough and many people, possibly most, want to be told that it's not really tough, it's just that you're special which makes it harder for you and this pill and less work/hardship will solve your problem. It's why the USA is filled with people addicted to and completely anesthetized by various prescription drugs. Sure, real depression actually exists. But it's rare and I suspect the over-diagnosis we're seeing is more damaging by removing people from active and productive lives than lack of diagnosis. When last did you hear a doctor tell someone to get regular sleep, eat well, get some exercise and face up the the challenges they're presented?
  - mratzloff 12y ago
    There is some truth in what you're saying but you're overly dismissive of the very real and not-actually-rare issues of depression, which have physical causes and treatments just like any other human ailment. Telling someone who actually has depression--that is, a brain chemistry imbalance that causes negative feelings--to toughen up is about as helpful as telling someone with a broken leg to walk it off.
    - dreamdu5t 12y ago
      It is nothing like a broken leg. A broken leg has a clear understandable cause and a clear efficacious solution. Depression has neither. If "toughen up" means eating well and exercising, it may very well be just as effective as SSRIs: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291072/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291072/ In my anecdotal experience the link between lack of exercise, poor diet, and depression is very strong. Hopefully there is more research into this area, but the main issue with it is that depression and SB is methodologically weak. What counts as "depressed" and "sedentary behavior" are extremely open-ended. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20174982 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20174982
      - 12y ago
BugBrother 12y ago
>> Here, have a strong cup of toughen-the-fuck-up. You might have a point generally, but I think you miss some historical context. A few hundred years ago, depending on location, if you made a "random snide comment" someone(s) might die. This used to be more serious stuff. These days we have rule of law, but taking care of your reputation and social respect is certainly one of the things you find not only in the Western world but in all cultures, including among baboons. It is partly genetic. (Consider all the muscles in your face to communicate and your language facilities; we have had lots of evolutionary pressure to be social with people. That is, if you failed in life or not was to a large degree decided by how you functioned with other people.) The point is, it is normal, now and historically, to feel destroyed and be motivated by social respect and insults.

31reasons 12y ago

I am not sure if you are being ironic with your PS or not but you assumed negatively how HN will respond to your comment.

dang 12y ago
It's a variant of Muphry's Law.

drdeadringer 12y ago

What if I told you that "toughen-the-fuck-up" does little to address positively actual depression and burn out?

Swizec 12y ago
As a person who was both actually depressed and actually burnt out (separate occasions, yay). Toughening the fuck up was the only thing that actually helped. As a fictional man with a steel jaw and a nose that was never broken in over 50 fights once said "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep going forward"
- dbshapco 12y ago
  Yes, wear your opponents out, Thunderbolt. It only takes getting up one more time than they knock you down.
mmaunder 12y ago
I've watched a perfectly healthy young man of 15 get a diagnosis of depression from a doctor and was given a prescription of Prozac. We tore up the script and told him it was exam stress and he was fine. Still is 8 years later and kicking ass. Life is tough and many people, possibly most, want to be told that it's not really tough, it's just that you're special which makes it harder for you and this pill and less work/hardship will solve your problem. It's why the USA is filled with people addicted to and completely anesthetized by various prescription drugs. Sure, real depression actually exists. But it's rare and I suspect the over-diagnosis we're seeing is more damaging by removing people from active and productive lives than lack of diagnosis. When last did you hear a doctor tell someone to get regular sleep, eat well, get some exercise and face up the the challenges they're presented?
- mratzloff 12y ago
  There is some truth in what you're saying but you're overly dismissive of the very real and not-actually-rare issues of depression, which have physical causes and treatments just like any other human ailment. Telling someone who actually has depression--that is, a brain chemistry imbalance that causes negative feelings--to toughen up is about as helpful as telling someone with a broken leg to walk it off.
  - dreamdu5t 12y ago
    It is nothing like a broken leg. A broken leg has a clear understandable cause and a clear efficacious solution. Depression has neither. If "toughen up" means eating well and exercising, it may very well be just as effective as SSRIs: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291072/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291072/ In my anecdotal experience the link between lack of exercise, poor diet, and depression is very strong. Hopefully there is more research into this area, but the main issue with it is that depression and SB is methodologically weak. What counts as "depressed" and "sedentary behavior" are extremely open-ended. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20174982 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20174982
    - 12y ago

BugBrother 12y ago

>> Here, have a strong cup of toughen-the-fuck-up. You might have a point generally, but I think you miss some historical context. A few hundred years ago, depending on location, if you made a "random snide comment" someone(s) might die. This used to be more serious stuff. These days we have rule of law, but taking care of your reputation and social respect is certainly one of the things you find not only in the Western world but in all cultures, including among baboons. It is partly genetic. (Consider all the muscles in your face to communicate and your language facilities; we have had lots of evolutionary pressure to be social with people. That is, if you failed in life or not was to a large degree decided by how you functioned with other people.) The point is, it is normal, now and historically, to feel destroyed and be motivated by social respect and insults.