Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by gonzo41 1783 days ago
With depression it's common that in acute events the conversation with the patient is along the lines of "it's not you, it's chemicals etc. Your powerless, don't blame yourself" which is a pretty good short term strategy. But over time it robs you of agency to think this way.

Longer term, with recovery focusing on taking back agency the conversation does change to a "you were a party to your own depression, own it. be mindful etc"

But it's a pretty big view change.

2 comments

Yeah. Depression by its nature is a bit of a special case where when you're in the throes of it, "this is your responsibility, only you can fix it" is the absolute worst thing you can possibly be told. It will definitely just shove you deeper down the hole. But once you've got some upward momentum a shift toward "I can fix this myself" can sometimes be helpful.
Which is correct?
Both are, but in their respective contexts.