Author: SeekerFive

The Do-Something-for-Someone-Else Strategy: A Specific Anti-Depressant Re-Connection

June 6, 2023

In a recent post, I mentioned one specific non-pharmaceutical, anti-depressant strategy: This is, when you sense depression and anxiety beginning to grow, rather than attempting to cheer yourself up by doing something alone and directly for yourself, instead try to do something for someone else. … Today I’d like to reflect on that strategy. Let me start with some cautions, then move toward how get this strategy right, which has a lot to do with understanding it properly. … More The Do-Something-for-Someone-Else Strategy: A Specific Anti-Depressant Re-Connection

Intrinsic Self-Esteem: What It Is and Why We Need It

May 23, 2023

Two years ago, I published two short posts about the difference intrinsic or true self-esteem and merely contingent self-esteem; the importance of intrinsic self-esteem; and the problem with only having contingent self-esteem. I think it’s time to revisit this topic. Having reviewed the old posts, they seem good to me. However, some of the comments … More Intrinsic Self-Esteem: What It Is and Why We Need It

Effective and Ineffective Pursuits of Happiness: Investing in Relationships with Others Is an Anti-Depressant

May 9, 2023

When people in the United States intentionally sought to become happier, they tended to fail. … When people in East Asia intentionally sought to become happier, they tended to succeed. … What people actually do when they seek happiness, in the U.S. and in East Asia, differs sharply in one key way. … More Effective and Ineffective Pursuits of Happiness: Investing in Relationships with Others Is an Anti-Depressant

Disconnection from Others and Loneliness: One Social-Environmental Cause of Depression

April 25, 2023

Today I want to talk about one major cause of depression and the prospect of counteracting or removing that cause. This cause is disconnection from others, or loneliness (more on that shortly). I’m basing this largely on Johann Hari’s investigation and discussion of these matters in his amazing book Lost Connections, which I wrote about … More Disconnection from Others and Loneliness: One Social-Environmental Cause of Depression

The Idea of a Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Depressant

April 12, 2023

The idea of a non-pharmaceutical anti-depressant might be the single most important thing in Johann Hari’s amazing and fairly recent book: Lost Connections. It radically reframes the entire dominant way of thinking about the treatment and prevention of depression, and does this by radically expanding, in a hopeful, realistic, and evidence-based manner, the way we’ve come to assume depression will be treated. … More The Idea of a Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Depressant

Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Depressants and Environmental Causes of Depression: Johann Hari’s Lost Connections

December 27, 2022

Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope, is one of the very best things I read in 2022. It’s one of those unusual gems you find, that make you want to tell everyone about it, but because it’s so rich and deep, it’s very difficult to convey, in a … More Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Depressants and Environmental Causes of Depression: Johann Hari’s Lost Connections

A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)

September 19, 2022

In previous posts I’ve been expanding on four difficulties probably faced by those of us attempting to practice Stoic philosophy. Here is the fourth: a certain lack of effective exercises for developing “philanthropy,” meaning a love of humanity or love of human beings. This “philanthropy” is itself a great topic and matter for reflection, but … More A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)

The Pitfall of Reliance on Providentialism

June 21, 2022

In a previous post, I mentioned that reliance on “providentialistic” views was one potential difficulty for present-day Stoics. Today I’ll explain this a bit. When I say “providentialistic” or “providentialism,” I’m referring to what theoretical discourses term “divine providence,” or perhaps more accurately, a belief in divine providence. In short, belief in divine providence is … More The Pitfall of Reliance on Providentialism

Four ways we may stumble in attempting to live Stoically

March 24, 2022

Have you encountered these difficulties in attempting to live Stoically? After a conversation I had, some time ago, about living as a Stoic philosopher, I found myself wondering what pitfalls and stumbling blocks a person is likely to encounter when they try seriously to integrate Stoic teachings and practice into their life. Four things came … More Four ways we may stumble in attempting to live Stoically