As someone fighting depression , I think it's the other way around.
When I'm depressed and completely out of energy , I try and find something low effort just to shut out the negativity.
Most of the time that's scrolling through the newsfeed or aimlessly browsing porn. If Facebook didn't exist I might find something else. Facebook is the goto place to zone yourself out.
It's only a problem when life is so barren that likes on your FB post become the highlight of your day. As long as you have healthy relationships and meaningful activities it will never become a problem.
Through years of A/B testing they've trained us like rats to scroll through the newsfeed. Sometimes I'll find myself or someone else simply scrolling aimlessly , not even knowing why , just a tired brain looking for the next dopamine hit. Finally, I installed an extension that removes the newsfeed on my work computer and there's already a big improvement. I never thought such a stupid hack could make a difference , since I could always override it.
But turns out that your brain is lazy and stupid , which you can use to your advantage by making wasteful activities just a wee bit more difficult. Making new habits is easiest when you rearrange your environment.
Want to become fit. Try moving into an apartment with a cross fit freak and watch yourself change automatically.
Want to become a better developer. Get a better job on a team that uses best practices and watch yourself strive to keep up.
Ofcourse , out of all of this self improvement thinking comes the sort of existential angst that is caused by browsing FB,HN and Reddit and seeing how your life is just 1 % of what it could be and what your friends are having. This I think is separate and isn't restricted to Facebook. This has always and will continue to exist.
So yeah sometimes you just can't win :D .
These days everytime I feel depressed I have some chocolate. And also go for a vigorous walk. It sort of works but not nearly as well as it should ;) .
I've "struggled" with depression most of my life. I say that in quotes, because for a long time I didn't realize that was the case, I just thought I was an asshole.
Some years ago I had a Facebook account. I finally had to close it, because it made me feel bad. Not because I didn't measure up to other peoples' lives, like in the article, but because the parts I saw were so vacuous.
Note, I'm not at all disagreeing with FB as a way to improve your depression, or with the value people find in FB generally. Just we're all different.
Also, to anyone struggling with depression (even if you don't realize it), I recently got help with depression explicitly, and on purpose, and it's improved my life immensely. If life sucks and you can't quite see why, talk to a professional and explore your options. Because even when you have problems and obstacles (which I do), life is great when it doesn't suck.
I am a heavy FB user/frequently depressed person. I wanted to show my agreement with something stronger than an upvote. Depression -> distraction-seeking -> FB wall would be the link for me too.
I want to chime in and also show my agreement with that statement. I've observed from my own deppressive behaviour that Facebook is just one of many go-to things. For instance, when I found an interesting show I haven't watched, I wouldn't even think of browsing Facebook (or HN) - I'd shift between my job and watching the series.
> As long as you have healthy relationships and meaningful activities it will never become a problem.
If someone subjectively perceives this statement to be true about her/his life - then s/he is not suffering from depression - pretty much by definition.
No, one could have a lucid view of ones condition, recognize that the above is true and still suffer from depression. That's the problem. Depression is a medical condition that can't be just reasoned away. Person can identify that by several rational measures they have a great life and still suffer from depression.
At least certain kinds of depression are actual, physical conditions. Sometimes without a known cure (only medication to keep the symptoms in check). Just because someone is able to move on their own, doesn't mean that their legs grew back. They might just use a wheelchair. And just because someone truly believes that they have a meaningful live, doesn't mean their depression "went away".
Sometimes I think "melancholy" was a better way to describe the situation than "dysthymia" or "major depressive disorder". It might be that's just your personality and the way you look at life. Maybe if it were possible to fully accept that temperament in this day and age it'd still be a burden, maybe not. But never forget, the depressed have a more accurate prediction of the future (though perhaps a skewed emotional emphasis). That's gotta be useful (or rather, there's gotta be a reason that trait got conserved). Regardless, as Allie Brosh put it:
> The problem might not even /have/ a solution. But you aren't necessarily looking for solutions. You're maybe just looking for someone to say "sorry about how dead your fish are" or "wow, those are super dead. I still like you, though."
I wonder if in the past society used to be more accepting of personality differences. Nowadays everyone makes a point of being so tolerant and accomodating but it's all based on the extraverted always-on always-happy norm. Anything else is fine so long as you acknowledge it's a disorder or a condition; otherwise ostracism. Feels like when I read about olden times there's more "oh, that's just how Fred is" but Fred's also an accepted part of the community.
When I'm depressed and completely out of energy , I try and find something low effort just to shut out the negativity.
Most of the time that's scrolling through the newsfeed or aimlessly browsing porn. If Facebook didn't exist I might find something else. Facebook is the goto place to zone yourself out.
It's only a problem when life is so barren that likes on your FB post become the highlight of your day. As long as you have healthy relationships and meaningful activities it will never become a problem.
Through years of A/B testing they've trained us like rats to scroll through the newsfeed. Sometimes I'll find myself or someone else simply scrolling aimlessly , not even knowing why , just a tired brain looking for the next dopamine hit. Finally, I installed an extension that removes the newsfeed on my work computer and there's already a big improvement. I never thought such a stupid hack could make a difference , since I could always override it.
But turns out that your brain is lazy and stupid , which you can use to your advantage by making wasteful activities just a wee bit more difficult. Making new habits is easiest when you rearrange your environment.
Want to become fit. Try moving into an apartment with a cross fit freak and watch yourself change automatically.
Want to become a better developer. Get a better job on a team that uses best practices and watch yourself strive to keep up.
Ofcourse , out of all of this self improvement thinking comes the sort of existential angst that is caused by browsing FB,HN and Reddit and seeing how your life is just 1 % of what it could be and what your friends are having. This I think is separate and isn't restricted to Facebook. This has always and will continue to exist.
So yeah sometimes you just can't win :D .
These days everytime I feel depressed I have some chocolate. And also go for a vigorous walk. It sort of works but not nearly as well as it should ;) .