this is stupid. something about activation energy? are there any activation energy hacks?
Depression
Vitamin D deficiency as well!
Nearly 42% of adults in the United States have a vitamin D deficiency. This figure rises to almost 63% in Hispanic adults and 82% in African American adults.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-deficiency-symptoms
If your shadow is longer than you are tall, you are not getting enough ultraviolet radiation to produce vitamin D. You need about 15 minutes a day.
Some of the symptoms are fatigue and depression
What is this shadow longer than your tall thing ? I have never heard of it lol . Can you explain how to check it or why it is a thing that happens and is real ?
I think that’s saying that if you go out at sunrise/sunset, the sun is on the horizon, and so your shadow will be a lot longer. In that scenario, you aren’t getting enough UV to produce the vitamin D you need.
I found out last doctor’s appointment my vitamin d is insanely low so I started taking a supplement this week and it’s made a world of difference already! Highly recommend trying it out if you feel burnt out and low energy all the time especially if you spend a lot of time inside. Its also relatively pretty cheap all things considered which is nice.
Often caused by an imbalance in brain chemicals, which can be corrected with medicine.
Get diagnosed and take your meds. It’s a world of difference.
To be clear, this doesn’t necessarily mean “get diagnosed for depression” either.
No, as others have suggested, get a blood test.
Accelerating depression was surprisingly a symptom of my cancer. So being depressed can also be a symptom of something far more serious than just depression.
My depression is still bad, but the difference between taking my cancer meds (not psychiatric meds) and not taking my cancer meds, is a world of difference, depression-wise.
So being depressed can also be a symptom of something far more serious than just depression.
This is very poor wording. Depression is one of the deadliest illnesses in young people.
While I can’t provide you with a proper scientific answer I can offer a basic explanation - it’s effort.
Browsing through the never ending amount of content online requires no effort but provides you with a dopamine rush as if you actually managed to accomplish or do something with your time. Other stuff, like watching movies, playing games, reading books, etc. requires attention and active participation, the payoff on the other hand is largely delayed (especially compared to the lazy option).
As for hacks… I don’t know any. The only ways I know how to deal with it is limiting your time scrolling through this stuff and forcing yourself to do other things - it can be rough early on but you’ll eventually get used to the “normal” way of functioning.
I would also like to add motivation to the list. If you’re not particularly hyped about any game, playing games isn’t going to feel engaging. Once you do find a game you enjoy, you won’t have much time for doomscrolling any more.
That doesn’t seem to do much for me unfortunately. In my case the potential time I need to reserve for a gaming session tends to take precedence over hype whenever I’m in a lazy, scroll-focused rut. Still trying to get back to a recent(ish) release I was super hyped playing during its beta period… At least I have a semi decent explanation for this one, I guess.
ADHD. A lot of people might say depression, and ADHD gets misdiagnosed this way too, especially because people are much more familiar with the way depression manifests rather than how ADHD actually manifests beyond stereotypical hyperactivity and difficulty focusing.
What you’re describing is executive dysfunction and energy regulation problems. The reason you can’t stop scrolling is because your brain doesn’t produce dopamine enough, and it’s only used to the short bursts it can produce. This creates a feedback loop where you’re stuck stimulating yourself with quick, easy dopamine hits, and that’s why anything that seems like a prolonged task feels like an impossible endeavor. It’s also why you’ll get tunnel vision if you ever do start playing that game.
We have this thing called autistic inertia, which sounds similar, and since people already mentioned ADHD, maybe start here and see if anything rings a bell and go from there:
https://medium.com/@autieadventures/adhd-autistic-inertia-and-pda-what-sets-them-apart-9d2b39a55cf7
I swear I have all three of the ADHD/autistic ones, and all three have gotten more and more difficult to deal with as I’ve gotten older
Unfortunately that’s pretty common. Personally I think that the accumulation of trauma (which is unavoidable being neurodiverse in a neurotypical world) makes the brain even more defensive, making it ever harder to break through the walls it creates in “self defence”. I wish I had something more encouraging or helpful to say, but I have the same struggles.
I appreciate it, I think I just wanted to put it out there that it can manifest in multiple ways. But it does feel good to not be alone
First time hearing about PDA. So being viscerally protective of one’s own autonomy, no matter how small or reasonable a demand is, is a problem? Damn dude
Take it a step further - even defending your own autonomy from yourself. Even things you want to do or even thoroughly enjoy become impossible once a demand is introduced. Add that to executive dysfunction, and daily life (and dealing with a neurotypical world that has no idea about these issues) becomes a real challenge.
This is basically my life.
The more I’m involved in a hobby, more I’m inclined to take on certain responsibilities, which turns the hobby into a chore, making it repulsive and hard to repeatedly engage in.
TLDR: I have to force myself to have fun.
Well fuck. I share a lot of those autistic traits and only a few of the ADHD ones. Would focusing on a medical diagnosis for ADHD still help if thats the case
ADHD and CPTSD here (how we love our initialisms!), the latter of which shares a lot of behavioral overlap with autism. From my experience and that of friends and family, yes. A proper evaluation from a knowledgeable practitioner should get you moving on both fronts. I highly recommend finding a psychiatrist versed in both.
I can only speak to my experience.
Often I fall back to films or games I’ve already developed an emotional attachment to. Because the mental energy it takes to develop a new attachment is significant. I find I can trick it by putting something on while I do something else and then come back to watch or listen to it later where it’s already somewhat familiar.
My ADHD doesn’t really let me have long term (hour plus) focus easily. It wants the easy dopamine hit from something that it knows it already can drop into.
Think you hit the nail on the head with the dopamine hit thing. Online media today is essentially built around that and rewards it. Look at Youtube shorts or tiktok. I can spend hours just scrolling through youtube shorts because it’s quick and random dopamine hits. no long content, something different on each scroll, move on to the next. even sites like this contribute to it. each post is something different and also a quick vomit of information.
dedicate oneself to hours of the same consistent media like a tv show or movie or even a videogame I can see as being difficult for people who are now conditioned to quick 10sec hits of info.
