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Comment by jnovek | Hacker News Reader

This is good advice, but depression can make these things hard to accomplish.

I’ve experienced this before — falling into a rut, becoming depressed and having extraordinary difficulty getting back up. It’s like a motivation off-switch.

Talk therapy is good. Try to find a therapist that you can trust.

Don’t be afraid of anti-depressants, especially for something likely to be shorter term like this. They don’t change your personality (although you might put on 3 to 5 lbs).

Are you being treated for ADHD? Some people with ADHD find that their depression goes away when they take psychostimulants or practice CBT to manage their symptoms.

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+1 for CBT. Exercise and good diet might take you so far, but not all the way. If you won't work on your mind, and the problems that accumulated there you won't go 100%.

What helped me out is finding a good information about CBT and its principles, where it explained clearly in simple terms. After that - actually doing the work myself. I did journal different situations that produced strong negative emotions or body reactions throughout the day for 3 months. Event-Thought-Emotion-Reaction. That helped out to find running themes in my head. Then afterwards every 2 weeks I went through the journal and wrote down alternative thoughts for it.

Remember when you going to the talk therapist you are expecting them to solve your problem, to give you the pill that solves everything. That won't work. You must do the job in the first place. With good information you don't even need to go to the therapist, you just need to be desperate enough that you start actually working on it. At least that what worked for me. Meditation is also pretty good, but same as exercise won't take you all the way there

As someone who has been struggling with ADHD their entire adult life. Last week was my first time back on treatment in 15 years. It felt like the brain fog had been lifted and I could think clearly for the first time ever. My situation has been much the same lately.

I will also do a +1 for exercise & talking to a therapist.[though I'm still trying to find one]

+1000

Thanks for mentioning this. If it’s depression then talking to a doctor is really important, and if you’re unsure of wether it’s a rut or depression then err on the side of caution and speak to a doctor. There’s apps like Talking Space that let you speak to a therapist if you’d rather go ‘off the books’ so to speak.

Ok so now, can I go directly to a therapist or do I need to fight a bureaucratic machine to get a recommendation or some shit.

Check out Talking Space - it’s expensive but let’s you speak to someone without a referral and have access almost 24/7. I’ve heard good things. And there is some trust-based discounts that help price wise. No affiliation with them btw!

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