---
title: Depression
author: Issa Rice
tags: self-improvement, psychology, depression
language: English
status: draft
belief: possible
license: CC BY
aliases: dealing-with-depression
---

I'm not really an EOTS, but some starting points:

- [Dealing with intellectual isolation](http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Dealing_with_intellectual_isolation)

- [Methods for treating depression](http://cognitomentoring.org/blog/methods-for-treating-depression/)

- [Things That Sometimes Help If You Have Depression](http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/16/things-that-sometimes-help-if-youre-depressed/)

- [Radicalizing the Romanceless](http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/08/31/radicalizing-the-romanceless/)

- Deliberately thinking about the ratio of online:real-life friends is important; see [Transferring connections from online to real-life](http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Transferring_connections_from_online_to_real-life) for more:

    > After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it
    > may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred
    > to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of
    > transfer may be especially fruitful.
    > 
    > Here are some further considerations:
    > 
    > -   Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
    > -   Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as
    >     [rationality](http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Rationality_learning_resources), [effective altruism](http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Effective_altruism), and
    >     [Quora](http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Quora), already have local meetup groups; see
    >     [Less Wrong meetup
    >     groups](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups),
    >     [effective altruism
    >     meetups](http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/), and [Quora
    >     meetups](https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups). Other potentially
    >     useful meetups can be found on e.g.
    >     [Meetup.com](http://www.meetup.com/).
    > -   Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is
    >     older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these
    >     take place, and so on.
    >     -   A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups
    >         will allow you to interact with older people who share your
    >         interests. This can be useful for both sides; see the questions
    >         ["In what ways do you think older people benefit from
    >         interacting with younger people, besides feeling good about
    >         helping?"](https://www.facebook.com/riceissa/posts/1475882736024012)
    >         (Facebook) and ["For high school and early college (or
    >         equivalent) students, how has regular casual interaction with
    >         people in their mid-to-late 20s influenced
    >         you?"](https://www.quora.com/For-high-school-and-early-college-or-equivalent-students-how-has-regular-casual-interaction-with-people-in-their-mid-to-late-20s-influenced-you)
    >         (Quora).

- [Good Mood: The New Psychology of Overcoming Depression](http://www.juliansimon.com/writings/Good_Mood/) might be good, but I haven't taken a look at it yet.

    Bryan Caplan [writes](http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2010/04/the_inner_life.html):

    > There's a lot in *Good Mood* that I'm tempted to criticize.
    > He barely considers genetic theories of depression, and is
    > quick to blame childhood experiences for adult unhappiness.
    > Furthermore, Simon doesn't seem to realize that "sweeping away
    > the unpleasant thoughts" can be a lot like "trying to not
    > think about pink elephants." Sometimes the harder you try not
    > to think about something, the more it keeps popping back into
    > your head; that's one of the key insights behind [exposure
    > therapy](http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/11/exposure_therap.html).

    However despite this, Caplan seems to have a lot of respect for Simon.
    What Caplan says about Simon is inspiring:

    > Overall, though, Simon's personal odyssey boosts my already
    > vast admiration for him. Most depressives accomplish little
    > other than spreading their misery to the people around them.
    > Simon, in contrast, was an incredibly creative and productive
    > scholar despite his inner sorrow.

- [Evolutionary approaches to depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_approaches_to_depression) on Wikipedia

- [How to Be Happy](http://lesswrong.com/lw/4su/how_to_be_happy/)

- [Be Happier](http://lesswrong.com/lw/bq0/be_happier/)