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Comment by glenda | Hacker News Reader

I completely I agree with you as well, there are many reasons a person could be depressed including strictly scientific/medical reasons. However, I still feel very strongly those "boo hoo" items build up to create new problems or worsen existing ones in a significant way regardless of clinical status. To ignore that seems negligent.

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I'm enthusiastic about life advice when it's practical and presented to people who are searching for it. So, to that extent, I thought your upthread comment was great.

But when people confuse that with advice for depression, I rush to change their minds about that, because it is a form of pop psychology which is pervasive and adds to the challenges faced by people suffering with depression.

Yeah, unsolicited life advice is definitely a problem for depressed people and doctors suggesting medicine can fall into that category sometimes too. I would never criticize a person about the treatment they've found to work for them or prevent them from trying new ones to attempt figure that out.

> I'm enthusiastic about life advice when it's practical and presented to people who are searching for it.

I appreciate the experiences shared here, while completely anecdotal they are all telling me the same story and they're directly relate-able.

Your point (I think?) is: those experiences are indigestible to someone who is currently suffering depression.

But to me, that in itself is an entirely different discussion...

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