pjeby comments on Open Thread: March 2010 - Less Wrong

5 Post author: AdeleneDawner 01 March 2010 09:25AM

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Comment author: MixedNuts 02 March 2010 03:52:01PM 10 points [-]

TL;DR: Help me go less crazy and I'll give you $100 after six months.

I'm a long-time lurker and signed up to ask this. I have a whole lot of mental issues, the worst being lack of mental energy (similar to laziness, procrastination, etc., but turned up to eleven and almost not influenced by will). Because of it, I can't pick myself up and do things I need to (like calling a shrink); I'm not sure why I can do certain things and not others. If this goes on, I won't be able to go out and buy food, let alone get a job. Or sign up for cryonics or donate to SIAI.

I've tried every trick I could bootstrap; the only one that helped was "count backwards then start", for things I can do but have trouble getting started on. I offer $100 to anyone who suggests a trick that significantly improves my life for at least six months. By "significant improvement" I mean being able to do things like going to the bank (if I can't, I won't be able to give you the money anyway), and having ways to keep myself stable or better (most likely, by seeing a therapist).

One-time tricks to do one important thing are also welcome, but I'd offer less.

Comment author: pjeby 04 March 2010 06:47:31AM 5 points [-]

This is just a guess, and I'm not interested in your money, but I think that you probably have a health problem. I'd suggest you check out the book "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross, which has some very good information on supplementation. Offhand, you sound like the author's profile for low-in-catecholamines, and might benefit very quickly from fairly low doses of certain amino acids such as L-tyrosine.

I strongly recommend reading the book, though, as there are quite a few caveats regarding self-supplementation like this. Using too high a dose can be as problematic as too low, and times of day are important too. Consistent management is important, too. When you're low on something, taking what you need can make you feel euphoric, but when you have the right dose, you won't notice anything by taking some. (Instead, you'll notice if you go off it for a few days, and find mood/energy going back to pre-supplementation levels.)

Anyway... don't know if it'll work for you, but I do suggest you try it. (And the same recommendation goes for anyone else who's experiencing a chronic mood or energy issue that's not specific to a particular task/subject/environment.)

Comment author: MixedNuts 04 March 2010 02:50:50PM 2 points [-]

Buying a (specific) book isn't possible right now, but may help later; thanks. I took the questionnaire on her website and apparently everything is wrong with me, which makes me doubt her tests' discriminating power.

Comment author: Cyan 04 March 2010 08:23:31PM 4 points [-]

It's a marketing tool, not a test.

Comment author: pjeby 04 March 2010 07:36:24PM 2 points [-]

FWIW, I don't have "everything" wrong with me; I had only two, and my wife scores on two, with only one the same between the two of us.