Comments on: Things That Sometimes Help If You Have Depression

By: 7 Steps to Reducing Rumination

7 Steps to Reducing Rumination — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 23:03:02 +0000

[…] A psychiatrist who tries out a number of different drugs and therapies can ensure a success rate of 60 to 80 percent. (1, 2). Your options may be better than you think; your doctor may not be a good one; if you don’t wan… […]

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By: Phil Goetz

Phil Goetz — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 11:53:41 +0000

I get headaches if I go without caffeine, but I’m starting to think taking energy drinks like Red Bull regularly causes me more problems than caffeine on days when I skip them. Note that different energy drinks have different active ingredients and different artificial sweeteners.

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By: Phil Goetz

Phil Goetz — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 11:47:33 +0000

I know many more men who are depressed from having too little sex than from having too much. I didn’t count, but my impression is that lack of sex is the most-common and most frequently-mentioned correlate of clinical depression in males. When I say lack, I mean a total lack of sex for many years, despite continual attempts to get it.

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By: Anon2

Anon2 — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:49:19 +0000

I second the suggestion of caffeine. My theory on why it works is because depression is an inflammatory disease and caffeine is a methylxanthine which have anti-inflammatory properties.

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By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 04:36:49 +0000

Second the call for evidence. Scott, is there anything in the medical literature about the effect James describes?

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By: F.

F. — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 04:08:00 +0000

To Rachel: you don’t need to submerge your greens completely in water as long as you put a lid on the pot. The greens will deflate and end up completely in the water. Even if they don’t end up fully submerged, if there is a lid the steam will slowly cook the part exposed to the air and cause it to release the juices inside.

The ideal proportion of greens to water (in making broth through boiling) depend on which is your limiting factor, greens or (room for) water. If you had infinite amounts of greens, the ideal proportion would be 1:1.

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By: Hedonic Treader

Hedonic Treader — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 14:08:34 +0000

Thank you for this useful post, Scott Alexander.

That said, there is a differnece between “a danger to oneself” and “a danger to others”. One violates the Schelling point of nonviolence, whereas the other doesnt.

Additionally, what some people consider harm, others consider not harm. I do not think voluntary painless death is always a harm, but can sometimes be a real benefit, e.g. to prevent agony and suffering.

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By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 19:37:42 +0000

Just a reemphasis that if you want to start taking new drugs then you should do quite a bit more research than just reading this post. Find out what the side effects are and how common they may be, what dosage you should take based on weight/age/sex/etc, different drug interactions, and of course any legal issues (if you need to get security clearance, for example, always get a prescription). Start off slow, and take note of effects. Modafinil, for example, made me slightly manic, and it wasn’t really obvious until I looked back on it.

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By: Rachael

Rachael — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 19:18:20 +0000

F: Thanks for the detailed instructions!

Half a kilo *is* too much to eat as far as I’m concerned, especially of the tough fibrous collard greens. I guess that means I’m not eating enough greens in the first place.

I used as much water as I did because they needed that much to cover them.

I tried it again this evening with broccoli. That was much more palatable. I also have some pak choi to try. I think the problem with my collards was that they were still dirty. The broth looked like a muddy puddle and I didn’t realise it wasn’t supposed to.

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By: anon1

anon1 — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 18:50:40 +0000

Wide-mouth pint mason jars don’t have shoulders. Filling a larger mason jar only halfway is also likely to work.

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