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Comment by Clubber | Hacker News Reader

I'm not depressed. Shit happens sometimes, but overall, it beats a lot of things that people have gone through in History.

Anytime I start feeding bad, I either go for a walk to get the blood flowing, or I realized that in 1914, teenagers were drafted and thrown into a trench to fight and die for 4 years. After that was said and done, the survivors got to experience the Spanish Flu, which killed more people than they meat grinder war they just survived. After a nice 12 year break (0 years if they were a farmer), they got to experience the Great Depression for 12 or so years, followed by WWII, which managed to be even more horrific than the first one.

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This is true but it also doesn't invalidate the struggles of anyone who's experiencing depression in modern times. Not saying you were trying to do that but I just want to say that for anyone who reads this and feels like their own struggle isn't valid.

I feel this way as well. I have moments of being stuck in my house with my great family and say “man I’m tired of the pandemic” or “my kids are acting crazy”. Then I remember the lives of others, not just men who were drafted in the wars but their wives who had to make a living and raise their children in a time that it wasn’t so easy for them. I also think of other countries where people aren’t stuck in a house but a shack with 5 others and have to go out and do dangerous work. Not invalidating that there are people with depression that I could never understand. I also realize some people are very alone and don’t understand why. BUT if your biggest problem is that you are stuck in your house or apartment over in Silicon Valley or NYC playing video games or reading books, I have a hard time being sympathetic. Things could be much much worse.

When my wife uses this line of reasoning I point out that she's taking solace in other people's pain. It's kind of a joke, but it's also kind of true. Don't need to minimize your own suffering just because someone else suffered more.

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