MentalHealthError: an exception occurred • Hacker News Board

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#181

Post by joepie91_ » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 9:43 AM UTC

dmoney wrote: post #108

hacker_9 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree your mind doesn't stop, but sometimes I solve my problems in that moment before sleep, I think because I can direct all my energy to it (even eyes are closed, so no visual processing needed). Though the tired mind is often very keen to simply recurse over thoughts you've already had opposed to think of new ones. If you find you can't stop yourself going over the day though, then 10-15 mins of meditation, wher…

I've found that reading sci-fi/fantasy before going to sleep helps me transition to sleep mode. I think it's because sci-fi problems are really somebody else's problem, so my brain can let them drop when I put the book down.

I really couldn't agree with this more. Reading before you sleep is so important to getting a good night's rest. Using a physical book or an e-ink screen, anything that doesn't emit light itself.

Seriously, invest $150 into getting a good e-reader, if you don't have one already. It's well worth the sleep benefits, potentially even more than a good mattress (for a programmer, anyway).

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#182

Post by nibs » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 3:40 PM UTC

masklinn wrote: post #149

nibs wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent 20 minutes trying to find this reference and could not find anything convincingly close enough. It is a sci-fi reference or something that happened in our world? The only thing I could find was FireFly related. My concern in this case would be chronic toxicity, which does as you say occur in some cases at lower than pharmaceutical dosage levels. I would only be campaigning for raising Lithium in towns <25% pe…

> I spent 20 minutes trying to find this reference and could not find anything convincingly close enough. It is a sci-fi reference or something that happened in our world? The only thing I could find was FireFly related. It is a scifi/firefly reference. Spoilers ahead for the Serenity movie. Miranda is a planet on a far far "edge" of the Verse (the "known universe" in Firefly) and considered fictional before the even…

Disturbingly relevant. It would be too easy to think we could just change the water and solve Bipolar, but the concept that a small percentage of people would rise up against it violently is not hard to imagine either.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#183

Post by kenneth_reitz » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 4:53 PM UTC

joepie91_ wrote: post #181

dmoney wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that reading sci-fi/fantasy before going to sleep helps me transition to sleep mode. I think it's because sci-fi problems are really somebody else's problem, so my brain can let them drop when I put the book down.

I really couldn't agree with this more. Reading before you sleep is so important to getting a good night's rest. Using a physical book or an e-ink screen, anything that doesn't emit light itself. Seriously, invest $150 into getting a good e-reader, if you don't have one already. It's well worth the sleep benefits, potentially even more than a good mattress (for a programmer, anyway).

I watch Netflix :)

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#184

Post by alexashka » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 6:20 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #180

alexashka wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, there was no direct mention of substances. Can you with complete honesty say you did not engage in any substance use? The fact that you went with 'post did not mention' as opposed to 'I did not use substances' says it all doesn't it? Furthermore: "Around the same time, right after having gone to my first Kundalini Yoga class, I ended up meeting (and falling in love with) a mesmerizing crazy chick that g…

> don't mean to be on the offensive You might want to try a bit harder. Mental illness is not the result of dabbling in tarot or crystals. The causalilty probably runs the other way. There's not much correlation between tarot and mental illness.

There are people who are mentally ill through no fault of there own.

There are people out there who at the very least significantly exacerbated their condition via 'shamanic rituals' and 'kundalini practices' and then some.

Kenneth has chosen to remain quiet when asked about his substance use. I rest my case.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#185

Post by DanBC » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 6:23 PM UTC

alexashka wrote: post #184

DanBC wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> don't mean to be on the offensive You might want to try a bit harder. Mental illness is not the result of dabbling in tarot or crystals. The causalilty probably runs the other way. There's not much correlation between tarot and mental illness.

There are people who are mentally ill through no fault of there own. There are people out there who at the very least significantly exacerbated their condition via 'shamanic rituals' and 'kundalini practices' and then some. Kenneth has chosen to remain quiet when asked about his substance use. I rest my case.

Feel free to try to provide any kind of citation for this.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#186

Post by fishnchips » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 7:10 PM UTC

joepie91_ wrote: post #181

dmoney wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that reading sci-fi/fantasy before going to sleep helps me transition to sleep mode. I think it's because sci-fi problems are really somebody else's problem, so my brain can let them drop when I put the book down.

I really couldn't agree with this more. Reading before you sleep is so important to getting a good night's rest. Using a physical book or an e-ink screen, anything that doesn't emit light itself. Seriously, invest $150 into getting a good e-reader, if you don't have one already. It's well worth the sleep benefits, potentially even more than a good mattress (for a programmer, anyway).

One thing I personally found useful was f.lux - an OS X app that changes the temperature of your screen when it gets dark outside. Sounds trivial but makes a huge difference.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#187

Post by V-2 » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 9:18 PM UTC

ascorbic wrote: post #173

V-2 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never said this is sound advice for bipolar people as opposed to those suffering from depression. As a matter of fact, I never insisted this is good advice for anyone, I specifically stressed that I'm not a doctor. I merely pointed out that there's a certain point of view, quoted by reputable sources. Given the above, I don't really understand the downvotes

I didn't downvote you. I understand you weren't recommended it for people with bipolar. I just wanted to ensure there wasn't a confusion there, as it could be extremely dangerous.

Well, every course of action one takes when mental health is concerned should be consulted with a professionalist... that goes without saying... anyone indiscriminately taking advice from internet forums is playing with fire. It shouldn't discourage us from discussing and sharing whatever interesting we've read, heard etc.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#188

Post by TrevorJ » Sun, Feb 28, 2016, 11:18 PM UTC

kenneth_reitz wrote: post #166

TrevorJ wrote: post #162

>A breakthrough occurred when I slipped the doctor a piece of paper containing the URL to this website. This gave him a really good idea of who I actually was, and was a very useful tool in helping him diagnose me. Is it expecting too much of our health care professionals to assume that they should be I don't know, spending five minutes on google looking for this information themselves? What about interviewing family…

Trust me, where I live, less that 0.1% of the population has any form of web presence, other than a Facebook profile. I live in a rural town in the country of Virginia. Lots of confederate flags and rednecks around these parts :) The doctor did spent much time on the phone with my parents, however, and was well aware of their claims. Having tangible proof of the things I've normally been able to accomplish, however,…

Thank you for the reply, and thank you for being willing to share your experience as well.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#189

Post by anaximander » Mon, Feb 29, 2016, 2:16 AM UTC

tominous wrote: post #30

This story struck a nerve because (in hindsight) I saw the same thing happening to my brother when he was about 19. He was suddenly interested in astrology, reiki, "tachyon energy disks", epiphanies, angels and demons, the vibrations of the universe. At the time I thought it was a phase. My mother was always talking (tongue-in-cheek?) about her "parking angel" and burning incense, so I thought he had just picked up t…

> ... if I ever felt that kind of epiphany personally I know I would head straight to the nearest mental hospital.

I can't say that you're wrong, but I would also ask you to consider that your sane and reasonable state of mind that's saying this now, is not the same state of mind that believes these delusions. What may seem right now to be a very clear and easy decision may be the last thing you would even consider in another mental state.

Re: MentalHealthError: an exception occurred

#190

Post by ggreer » Mon, Feb 29, 2016, 4:20 AM UTC

odbol_ wrote: post #169

ggreer wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These experiences might reveal something about consciousness and the human mind, but they do not tell you about the rest of the cosmos. The only way we can learn about that is through observation (astronomy) and experimentation (particle accelerators), not introspection. Heck, introspection can't even reveal to us that our minds are made of neurons.

What basis do you have for saying that? I'm willing to bet that more than a few scientific discoveries were made on, or inspired by, these "introspections". Thinking and perceiving reality differently seems like an excellent way to discover new observations about the world.

That's not what I or yahyaheee are talking about. Giving scientists ideas is not the same as figuring out how the cosmos works. Scientists are inspired from sources as varied as drugs, fever dreams, and even strokes. But they don't actually discover whether things are true until experiments are performed and observations are made. In other words: A scientist may have first conceived of benzene's correct structure in a dream, but other scientists conceived of many other likely structures. The answer wasn't known until x-ray diffraction was performed on the molecule.

Yahyaheee is saying that the last step isn't necessary for some facts. That is, he thinks some drugs, when combined with introspection, can reveal true facts about things outside of the mind. I disagree.