Timing, interest, reacting to the input of others, relevance and desire to share - all of these are dynamics to the "success" to a thread.

Board mechanics, too, play a part.

For instance, this board doesn't "bump" by default - new posts don't move a thread to the top of the queue. So, post on a Friday and it may be buried on Page 2 by Monday, even if the post could win a Pulitzer.

Really though, I dunno - I'm a cat.

Now, to answer your question, if others already answered the post and they said it better than I could, then why answer/post.

I think it depends on the day - do people have time to do an in depth analysis and give a good response?

Does someone else's response look similar to what they'd write? (Than they likely drop a like on it and move on).

And I know we might share a bit more in the Mental Health groups or the Psychology group - because it's more insular. "Mental Health Support "

Also someone new coming in looking for input? That tends to make folks want to help out - I think we do have that tendancy as humans when asked "What works?" to want to see if our experiences can help another.

Also if a post picks up more comments - it drives more members to it..... that much I know.

I have no constructive response other than - interesting observation. I tend to share my feelings but fail to read all the posts because I get so many alerts from my groups

Speaking as one who did not respond to any of those, I shall not speak.

I think the first question you can answer more objectively...Give all the pat answers from google, psychologists and psychiatrists.

The other two questions require far more self-reflection. They are subjective. Taking out your pain, examining it and talking about it takes courage.

I don't recall seeing all of these posts. I get busy and skim sometimes. But I would have no problem answering any of them. My depression typically stems from external situations, such as battling chronic illness since 1974 or discovering that my husband has made 26 payments over several months from our checking account to the side piece he's been schtupping without my knowledge or consent or living on less than 20 grand a year. You know, life's little frustrating annoyances like those, as opposed to any chemical imbalance. How do I deal with that? First I try doing something for someone else to take me out of focusing inwardly, when it's worse I may try swearing like a pirate, and in extreme cases, I adopt a kitten. I'm betting you think I'm kidding about how I cope. I'm not.

My guiding principle. Easy. Three words: Do No Harm. Two other words: Listen. Care.

What does depression feel like to me? It makes me feel weak and drained. It's like looking at everything through a gray filter. It makes me cynical and negative. My default setting of "Happy" fades and I'm quicker to anger. I hardly ever cry, but frustration is the most likely reason when I do. It hurts physically. Depression feels like being trapped in my own head.

Well, I know that at least one of those members has me blocked, so there's that.

As other posters have put it, there are a number of reasons why and why not some posts get more responses than others.

For me, a lot of it depends on my mood at the time I see the post.
IF I even see the post in the first place.
How I feel about the subject matter.
If I feel like I have anything to contribute.
If I have time to respond with any level of thoughtfulness (if I feel the topic requires it), and a myriad of other factors.

I think this site is broken, honestly. There are very few new posts on my front page feed, and when I click the "newest" link to get all posts I see very few there either. In fact, right now I see posts under "newest" from no later than December 27, and there are only two there (of which one is the post from LeeLou you mentioned). I don't think I've seen the other two you referenced. I had thought for a long time that all conversation was just taking place in the groups, but as time goes by I realize that the way posts are selected for display is fundamentally flawed. I've even tried playing with my feed settings to show more from particular categories, hoping that would help, but it didn't have any discernible effect. It seems we should be able to scroll through a full list of posts, but that has ostensibly not been the case for many, many months.

I know that's not what you were asking about, but I think it may be partly why some posts get lots of attention and others get virtually none.

Edit: I just went back to the feed settings and selected every category, and now I'm seeing a lot more. I had set them back to the factory defaults after I'd tested previously and had seen no improvement at that time, but I think this is still the crux of the problem because I suspect most people assume they're seeing all of the posts by default.

I can describe my depression. It feels like your feelings are hurt really, really, badly. It hurts to a degree physically, kind like you have some kind of virus. You have little desire to do anything worthwhile. Your mind constantly worries excessively but you can't get the bad feeling off your mind. What I usually do is go ahead go to a psychiatrist and get some meds. The meds really work usually well enough until you can get to feeling better. I have planned suicide a couple of times. However, once the depression is over, you wonder why you allowed yourself to feel so bad about something that really doesn't matter in the long run.

I have a guess on why "how fellow Atheists deal with depression" gets the most activity: You don't have to dig deep to find the answer. If you have had depression, you've already labored to find the answer and you remember what works best for you. As for the other two, I always struggled to describe how depression felt to me and haven't consciously thought much about my guiding principles (but maybe I should )

Guiding principles to life? That is a pretty broad subject, and could take a lot more time and thought than I would want to try and explain here. I handle depression by being depressed. Other than the two years I was on antidepressants in the 90's, i have not figured out away to control it when it kicks in.

Laziness. The first one is simpler to answer.

I think ot has to do with self awareness. Many can tell you how they deal with things, few can tell you why. It is much the same with religion. Most can tell you what they believe, only in rare cases they can give an articulate answer why.

Guiding principles: treat everyone like you would want to be treated. I assume that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have. Thus I do not judge people for their looks or as they present themselves. It may be the best they have and they may not have everything working correctly. Remember statistics tells us that the average person has an IQ of one hundred. We see many smart people doing all kinds of things to make life better for all of us, this also means that there are half that are not getting along as well as the other half. The system does not work well for those who lay below the one hundred percent line. Also there are people who had it great for a time and then the bottom of the economy fell out meaning there are smart people who are homeless. Also remember that since Reagan quit funding the Mental Health facilities the insane are now on the streets trying to function as best they can. Be kind, be helpful, be honest, if you are taken advantage of, so be it.

Perhaps it is that depression may feel different to different people. For me it is like moving through glycerin, a slippery substance that is also has a high viscosity. One cannot get to where they want to go without much more effort than should be necessary. This is the physical feeling for me, the mental is much the same but different as one usually knows what they feel like normally, being depressed makes this mentally the same. For me it is like one day I am at ninety percent and the next I am at thirty, I now I am smarter but I just cannot get there. Also depression is painful, it is like having a bad cold or the flu without the runny nose, headaches, bone aches, my hair hurts. Depression is not fun and my description is while I am taking medicine for it. It is unbearable without the meds. I am not a medical professional but I am willing to share what I know. Take it as you will.

Please do not use members' usernames.

Depression and mental illness have an terrible stigma.

[projecthelping.org]

Do I have depression? Yes. Most people in the modern world today would have. I deal with it in my own way without harming anyone and I cannot exactly tell you what it feels like. This is because we are all different.

The principals that I live by are those that work for me without harming anyone else. My reality may not be your reality. I can tell you exactly how I feel and even if we agree we may not be saying the same thing. This is the nature of reality.

People often ask me what it's like to be colorblind. What words could I use to compare my everyday experience to a reality I have never had.

The same is true of chronic depression. WTF do you want me to say? Why don't some of you try to describe what it's like to NOT be depressed? That should be interesting.

It is much to do with specific exposure to particular posts.... I respond to those that pique my interest..... and I am sure I don't see every post made....

Speaking for myself I've known Christians to get emotional support from their churches so for atheists to reply about dealing with depression might be considered a counter to the Christian method.

1. Time of day, length of post, the way a post is worded....these could all be more significant factors contributing to which posts receive responses
2. Depression as posted by Leelou seemed more urgent, at least to me (and less boring)
3. The way you frame the questions about readiness and reluctance assumes quite a bit more than the data permits
4. It may be time to resist the urge to post for posting's sake

I hadn't responded to any of the posts. The only one I had noticed was that by LeeLou. I have been a bit under the weather lately and have done barely more than skim. On any given day I may or may not respond to particular posts. There is no particular rhyme or reason.

Sometimes I will comment on a lower level members post....just because....especially when they are asking for help, and I think I might have something to contribute. ....