Researchers treat depression by reversing brain signals traveling the wrong way

That puts a pretty reasonable lower bound on what is or isn't depressed. It is absolutely an altered state of mind, and an information processing disorder.

For anyone who might feel like "it's ok to be depressed", this is not a normal thought, and there is no normal amount of suicidal ideation. Seek professional help or strong social support; just ask for help anywhere it might exist (go to an emergency room and just have a seat if you must). If you aren't depressed, these thoughts literally don't happen, as strange as that may sound if you are in the thick of it.

> Even when you understand it's wrong, or at least heavily negatively biased, fighting those interpretations feels like trying to swim upstream in a terrific current.

Achieving it still feels like the end of "A beautiful mind", where there are people hanging out in the room that are not there. They sound like they are they, they feel like they are, they smell familiar. But they are not real and will disappear some wonderful day, as they always do. So you just nod to them and go on with your live.

There have been few days in my adult life that I wouldn't have preferred to not be here. Depression sucks. Yet, I don't think people are right when they tell me I'm wrong to be depressed.

I hear that some people feel their depression shouldn't be there and that they should feel happy, and in those cases I think this sounds like it could be an excellent solution, but in my case (and I think others too) I could give you very well reasoned arguments for why I would prefer to not to be here and why I feel a sense of sadness as my default state. At least in my case I believe arguments for optimism are more wrong than my depression.

Interestingly, my girlfriend is the total opposite to me. She's the happiest person ever met and I often wonder why she isn't also considered to be suffering from some kind of mental defect – I guess in her case the signals must be moving the "right" way because obviously the "right" way to feel is happy 24/7 and prolonged sadness is "wrong".

I guess I always kinda liked the idea that any advanced intelligence would end up as some iteration of Marvin the Paranoid Android, since the logical conclusion should perhaps be that life is pointless and hard, so therefore why bother? Perhaps the "right" way for signals to travel is in the direction of depression and hopelessness.

Sorry I know this isn't really on topic and I sound like a complete downer. I'm certainly not trying to diminish this research. I've guess I've just always found it interesting how some people feel they can categorise mental states as "right" or "wrong".

Just another perspective to lean on when understanding others.

Once you confront it in the most absolute sense, something akin to ego-death occurs, and you make a decision about whether it is worthwhile to continue.

Everything comes from and swings back to chaos. Embrace it and you will be free.

Note the disclaimers, especially "TOUCHING THE DEVICE WRONG DURING ASSEMBLY CAN INSTANTLY KILL YOU. THIS DEVICE COULD KILL YOU OR MAIM YOU OR BREAK YOUR MIND."

However the other things you're posting are alternative chemical treatments. People with resistant depression have already tried the approved chemical remedies. While I broadly agree that there's evidence in favor of both psilocybin and ketamine being potent chemical anti-depressants, I also think there's a number of valid reasons for someone to reach a point where they don't want to try any other chemical remedies, and ECT / TMS become more compelling options.