Comment by rsobers | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rsobers | Hacker News Reader

Certainly depression in tech is real and people suffering deserve help (and can hopefully get it given their station in life).

But when you strive for hyper-ambitious outcomes, whether it be selling your company for $2B, trying to change the world, or training to become a world champion fighter, you're likely going to suffer some injuries that you might not fully recover from.

I feel for all the people who are depressed AND struggling to find their next meal--working in fast food or in factories, being treated as if they were less-than-human.

I find it super-hard to get worked up when we founders and startup employees get to have health insurance, good salaries, free food and education, and a chance to win the lottery.

You have perspective

People who are suffering from clinical depression may not have. The pain will be the same irrespective of their position in society.

I know what you mean, many of my (adult) students are doing a couple of minimum wage jobs, looking after children and/or parents and trying to study. Not easy.

> You have perspective. People who are suffering from clinical depression may not have.

You're using "perspective" in an unclear way here, as though it means optimism or a long view. In fact, studies show that depressed people often have better, more accurate, perceptions of reality than non-depressed people. This state of being even has an associated theory or school of thought:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism

Quote: "Although depressed individuals are thought to have a negative cognitive bias that results in recurrent, negative automatic thoughts, maladaptive behaviors, and dysfunctional world beliefs,[2][3][4] depressive realism argues not only that this negativity may reflect a more accurate appraisal of the world but also that non-depressed individuals’ appraisals are positively biased."

If this idea turns out to have scientific merit (which it doesn't at the moment), I would find that depressing.

So you're saying its not a real problem because startup people have resources?

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