jooyous comments on Post Request Thread - Less Wrong

20 Post author: Qiaochu_Yuan 11 April 2013 01:28AM

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Comment author: jooyous 11 April 2013 11:43:17PM *  13 points [-]

I would like to request some detailed accounts of people dealing with mental health issues from a LW perspective. There's a lot on this website about hacking your brain's normal procedures, but not a lot about noticing actual bugs and taking steps to debug effectively and efficiently? Or maybe accounts of mistakes made in the debugging process? This might be too specific for each person to be useful, but it would still be interesting and maybe there are parallels to draw even if specific solutions don't translate from person to person. It seems like a lot of people in the comments have something to contribute from experience but there are few complete accounts.

EDIT: Here are some specific topics:

  • A catalog of some common indicators that you're depressed; maybe also if you have a recurring problem, then what are your warning signs that it's back?
  • If you have sufficient evidence that you're probably depressed, how do you effectively/efficiently trick your faulty hardware to get help? Where should you look for help? How do you fix your feeling after you've fixed your thinking?
  • What is the scope of mental health treatment in terms of money, time/week, time to see results, etc. for various issues? When is it worth undertaking?
  • What are some mental health symptoms that are known by the medical community but aren't widely known outside of it that might deserve mainstream attention and maybe de-stigmatizing?
Comment author: maia 12 April 2013 12:54:49AM 7 points [-]

Seconded, and are there any currently existing LW posts on CBT? (I would like one, if not.)

Comment author: Dr_Manhattan 13 April 2013 02:25:58AM 2 points [-]

not on LW, but from a highly intelligent "LW affiliate" http://www.spencergreenberg.com/2012/07/break-your-downward-emotional-spiral/

Comment author: FiftyTwo 13 April 2013 08:44:34PM 1 point [-]

Slight caution, trying to "think your way out of depression" is a common failure mode among high intelligence people who are used to being able to solve problems with their own research. Most mental health problems by their nature require external intervention.

Comment author: Alicorn 14 April 2013 06:31:33AM 3 points [-]

On the other hand...

Comment author: jooyous 13 April 2013 09:35:43PM *  1 point [-]

That's exactly why I want some tricks that intelligent, depressed people can use on themselves in order stop trying to think themselves better and to get up off their butts to look for help.

Comment author: mare-of-night 13 April 2013 06:12:23PM 0 points [-]

Thirded.

I've found knowing indicators useful for managing stress, too. I'm sometimes terrible at knowing when I'm stressed, so I also pay attention to whether I'm getting headaches when other people aren't (meaning it's not just the weather), and whether I'm checking for bugs in the house more than usual.

The symptoms known in the medical community but not outside it is something I hadn't thought about before, but it sounds very interesting.

Stress management might also tie in with akrasia, to some extent - some people procrastinate because thinking about the work is stressful.

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