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Comment by brudgers | Hacker News Reader

Depression is not a lifestyle choice. Our eating, exercise, sleep, etc. are habits developed over a lifetime. Chronic health issues, sexual abuse, traumatic death of a loved one, and bad luck are what to avoid. And of course some formulations of brain chemistry.

Casting depression as a lifestyle issue is a step backward. Mental health is already stigmatized far too much. Depression is not a moral failing of will power. It’s a response to adversity. A way profound unhappiness manifests.

Kale, a peloton, and deleting Facebook won’t change the past.

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The more I think about this comment, the more it just seems so wrong. Yes, depression is not always caused by lifestyle, but it definitely can be. What you are saying just sounds like an excuse for taking the easy path. If trying to change your lifestyle to fix your mental health is a bad thing, what is your counter suggestion? Taking pills that make you addicted, not solve the problem and make everything worse if you stop taking them?

I know there are cases, where medication is inevitable and is the only option. But this is a minority. The vast majority of mental health issues we have today, are caused by lack of virtue and values, choice of diet, sleep and lack of social interactions.

An alternative which has shown substantial empirical success is clinical treatment with a qualified psychotherapist experienced in the treatment of depression through the application of clinical treatment in a clinical setting. Such treatment may or may not involve the use of pharmaceutical and/or alternative medicines and/or medical and alternative treatments.

Incidentally, this is the context from which the study draws validity and makes rational sense to conduct. Without the clinical context depression is not a medical diagnosis.

The vast majority of mental health issues is caused by a lack of virtue?

Sure. General issues, maybe. Actual clinical diagnoses? Absolutely not. Yet you decide to paint both with the same brush. there are 3+ million diagnosed bipolar people in the US. Clinal depression, anxiety, and ADHD rates are higher. This is not a mere “minority”. There are significant numbers of people with chronic mental health problems.

The attitude people have towards mental health is horrible. The first assumption is always that the person with the issue is at fault and it’s up to them to convince any given person they meet that person’s bar for not being at fault for their problems. Even if you meet that bar, they still treat you like shit.

I think this is a little too one-sided. Yes, there is a group of people who have depression due to factors outside of their control, and we should all be cognizant of that. But that doesn't mean that literally every person who's depressed falls into that group. There's another group of people who are depressed due to factors at least somewhat within their control.

The assertion that people suffering depression can be divided into those suffering due to factors beyond their control and those suffering by choice is not supported by the article. People with a mental illness often are able to manage their symptoms. But the symptoms are not the cause of their mental illness. A schizophrenic is not schizophrenic because they choose not to take a prescribed medication that mitigates the visible symptoms of schizophrenia.

An unhealthy lifestyle is a common symptom of depression. Lots of screen time, poor diet, low quality sleep, and inertia are factors in clinical diagnosis of depression. They are things that might lead a person to decide someone might be depressed.

Depression does not have to be moral failing of will power, but it definitely can be cured by moral success of will power.

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