[earlybike]

Nice thread and here my top 10 list of antidepressants (in that order):

1. Most of the times, there's a clear reason for a depression, something which is not that easy to change and worse not that easy to identify as the real cause (e.g. wrong boss, wrong cofounder, wrong investor, wrong friends, toxic workplace, big nose, etc.); before looking at the other antidepressants, try to get rid of the main issue; often it is even too late, even if you get rid of the main depression cause, the depression just stays (PTSD). Either because the cause was too strong or too long. Some think that there is no direct cause-effect-relationship but this could be also another sign of a severe depression and that they just resigned (‘I can’t do anything about my depression, it’s genetic, this is me...’). It ‘s easier to resign and to give up, especially if you are depressed

2. Have social encounters every day, best: have a SO or friends (ok) or some good coworkers (better than nothing); this can be quite hard, having social interactions is not that easy when lacking a SO or friends

3. No addictive/depressing online stuff (FB leading the way, then your smartphone)

4. Sleep

5. Cut gluten, should be on #1, gluten and too many wrong carbs boost anxiety

6. Keep carbs under control, no need for keto but low carb might not be the worst idea

7. Exercise

8. Working/be productive, consume less

9. Create urgency, set yourself goals with deadlines, get busy and you won't have time to get depressed; just imagine you catch a plane the last minute (do you think you are depressed when catching the plane? No of course not)

10. Meditation

Again: Advice 2-9 won’t help if 1 is not solved.

Edit: Why the downvotes?

Edit2: After I got downvoted, my final advice...

11: Stay away from depressed people on HN because "negativity is infectious" (Robert Greene)

[kbhn]

> Most of the times, there's a clear reason for a depression

I'm gonna have to disagree pretty strongly with that assertion without any supporting evidence. In fact, I would argue that rarely is depression caused by a clear reason which has a direct path to resolution. This is the exact perspective that makes those going through depression feel like others are trivializing what they're going through.

That's probably why you're getting downvoted, since it's #1 on your list.

[earlybike]

> In fact, I would argue that rarely is depression caused by a clear reason which has a direct path to resolution.

I'm gonna have to disagree pretty strongly with that assertion without any supporting evidence.

[kbhn]

Sure, let me quote Harvard[1]:

"It's often said that depression results from a chemical imbalance, but that figure of speech doesn't capture how complex the disease is. Research suggests that depression doesn't spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. Rather, there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications, and medical problems. It's believed that several of these forces interact to bring on depression."

Enjoy your continued confusion as to why your 'advice' is being downvoted.

[1] - https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-causes-dep...

[earlybike]

‘It's believed’ != evidence

[kbhn]

Someone's throwing stones in a glass house.

Still waiting on ~any~ article to back up your assertion from a respected institution.

[earlybike]

I never claimed to have any evidence—you did but didn’t deliver.

If you read my initial post again you can read that this is my personal top 10 list. So I won’t provide any evidence. And my one reply was just imitating your discussion style.

[thanatropism]

As a bipolar for whom antidepressants can be destabilizing, yeah to 3,7,8,9,10.

I've had a hypomanic break from learning some Buddhist meditation.

[pure_ambition]

I agree that these are all good parts of a holistic treatment plan, but therapy and medicine also deserve to be on here. A more accurate title would be "ways to get out of a rut."