I think it's a very good thing that we don't treat mental health that way because, generally speaking, we're nowhere near understanding mental health issues the way we understand diabetes (although I wouldn't be surprised if we don't understand that one as well as I'm inclined to think).
A better analogy would be something like 'Ask HN: what are you doing for your front-end javascript needs', which of course is discussed a lot, maybe even too much.
To be clear, I do agree that if you have serious issues it would be good to see a professional. But it's not a panacea and so it's quite possible, likely even, that a lot of people asking questions like OP are asking specifically because a professional has not been able to cleanly solve the problem, if at all. In fact, I've met plenty of people who felt they were worse off after getting help.
Again, I'd still recommend you try if you're struggling, but it's important to not see a mental health professional as 'the' solution, because on top of quite possibly turning out to be a disappointing experience, it might keep you from trying other stuff alongside it.
A better analogy would be something like 'Ask HN: what are you doing for your front-end javascript needs', which of course is discussed a lot, maybe even too much.
To be clear, I do agree that if you have serious issues it would be good to see a professional. But it's not a panacea and so it's quite possible, likely even, that a lot of people asking questions like OP are asking specifically because a professional has not been able to cleanly solve the problem, if at all. In fact, I've met plenty of people who felt they were worse off after getting help.
Again, I'd still recommend you try if you're struggling, but it's important to not see a mental health professional as 'the' solution, because on top of quite possibly turning out to be a disappointing experience, it might keep you from trying other stuff alongside it.