This is awesome! I totally should have thought of it, thanks!
That's awesome that you're doing that research!
My biggest question is probably what the distribution looks like for people who get TMS for depression - how many of them are "cured" in the sense that they never need TMS again? How many need it again after a year? Two years? And so on.
I do think there's something to that idea - physical injury and pain is a very universal and visible experience, whereas mental illness is difficult to parse for those who've never experienced it. I also think there's some sense in which 'treatment' and 'cure' are treated differently for mental and physical illness.
A doctor wouldn't just prescribe painkillers for a broken arm and call it a day because your symptoms have been dealt with; they'd want to actually fix the problem. Depression, on the other hand, doctors seem perfectly fine with merely mitigating the symptoms. Perhaps because that's all they're confident they can do?
I didn't, but I'm not surprised your sister had that experience. It's a loud, repetitive noise going off next to your ear. My clinic offered me earplugs, which I didn't need, but perhaps your sister could have used?
That would be useful.
I suppose their calibration might be cause for concern. You're with yourself all the time, so you've been witness to your own highs and lows, but others might only see your highs (for example, if you only leave your house when you're above 50%, their scale would bottom out at 50%).
I would love to try psilocybin, but can't because of where I work. I have tried Ketamine and am now trying TMS, which are the two FDA-approved 'nuclear options', and have been seeing some success with them.
That's really interesting! I'm no expert in neurology, so thanks for the heads up!
True. I just happen to have the 'very hard to do anything' kind, so that's what I describe.
I haven't thought much about how treatment fits in here. I've certainly felt both dimensions mentioned get better/reduced through treatment (having to solve less puzzles, having to solve puzzles for coarser/less granular actions).
Ultimately, 'curing' depression would be the equivalent of removing the app from your brain.
I'm really happy to hear that this helped! Remember, all models are wrong, but some are useful. This model is useful for me; use it as long as it is useful to you.