Tim Bates <tbates@karri.bhs.mq.edu.au> writes:
> Michael Bast said
> >... I've noticed about very intelligent [people are] prone to
> >self-sabotage. They've bought into believing that they're not 'worthy'
> >of success, that being bright somehow makes them bad, etc.
>
> Empirically, this is not the case. It is not intelligence that is making
> you and your friends depressed.
Yes. This is rather a mindset that is partially forced onto us by our culture (all those "things man was never meant to know" memes) and partially due to bad thinking habits (if you think that being intelligent means being a Leonardo or Aristoi all the day, and then realize you are intelligent and not behaving like that, you might think there is something wrong with you).
> >My interest is in studying both how this comes about, and how to cure it.
> SSRIs work well ;-) So does behavior therapy. About the same efficacy
> but Prozac is usually cheaper.
I like cognitive therapy. Therapy in various forms has the advantage that it works even when a drug would be unavailable, since it helps set up a cognitive "immune defense" against negative thinking patterns. Medication is more useful for breaking the initial vicious circle and show the possibility for change.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y