
Ask HN: What non pharmacological means do you use to manage anxiety/depression? - Essa
Just to clarify. This does not exclude those who are also on medication.<p>In my case, I’ve been on antidepressants for about 2 years and have found the following helpful in mitigating my anxiety and depressive moods:<p>* Writing every day: It not only helps me identify and understand my triggers, but also provides a feeling (perhaps an illusion) of control that I feel is helpful.<p>* Cutting out caffeine: This helped cut down the jitteriness and sudden spikes of anxiety through the day. It also helped me sleep better, which also improved my mental well being in the long run.<p>* Regular exercise: Massively improves the quality of my mood.<p>* Sleep: Improving sleep quality and time<p>I’m curious to hear about what others here have found useful.<p>Thank you
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sentamalin
Creating to-do lists (whether on paper or in an app) and checking things off
of it helps me a ton, especially when I'm feeling the start of an episode.

Depression at its core, for me, has a feeling of a lack of control and
helplessness over a situation--whether it's a real situation or a perceived
one by my mind. By having a list and being able to do things on it, I gain a
feeling of control that is out of my head and can be proved because I checked
it off, marking it done.

A general item, for example, in the to-do list templates I have when I'm
feeling the start of my episode is "Brushing My Teeth." It's horrendously
mundane, but it's actionable, simple, and also necessary (to me). It might be
a small thing, but getting that crossed off shows me, "Hey, I did something, I
do have some control over my situation right now."

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blanche_
Exposure to nature (dogs are very in getting you out of the house), also sun
exposure to an extent.

Doing fun stuff and doing stuff that you're good at (especially when some
other areas of your life suck at the time and you feel like a failure, yay
dopamine).

CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) has been proven to work quite well for
anxiety.

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billconan
I have not yet been diagnosed with depression, but I have close friends who
have been diagnosed. So based on what I saw from them, I know I kinda have
some depression symptoms. For me, the hardest part is not being able to sleep
sometimes. Vacation is the only way that is effective, but not practical.

The trigger for my depressive moods have always been the feeling of being
abandoned or being left alone. It could be a breakup with a girl friend, or it
could be close colleagues left for other companies, leaving me being the only
person on the team. Or a graduation with me being the only one that have not
found a job or being accepted by a grad school.

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onion2k
_Writing every day_

Coding rather than writing for me, but this really helps. Ensuring I do
_something_ every day on a (non-work) code project helps me feel that I'm
always moving forwards.

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alex_hitchins
Read about Buddhism. Seriously, it helps me.

