From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Fri May 12 2000 - 15:22:43 MDT
Damien Broderick wrote:
>
> At 01:01 AM 12/05/00 EDT, Mitch wrote:
>
> >Just the regular seratonin re-uptake inhibitors
>
> As I understand it these take a couple of weeks to take effect. And often
> have disturbing side effects. Not much use in fits of sudden despair.
I haven't heard any reports from anyone who's actually tried it - I gave
up on pharmeceutical fixes before I worked around to noradrenaline - but
noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors, such as Reboxetine and Edronax, might
be worth a shot.
MAO inhibitors (Monoamine Oxidase, silly, nothing to do with China) are
supposed to have an effect on serotonergic, dopaminergic, AND
noradrenergic systems; literally make you start dancing on clouds.
In general, a good place to check out this sort of thing is the highly
transhumanistic "Good Drug Guide" by David Pearce.
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/
(Section on Reboxetine: www.reboxetine.com, who knew.)
If that doesn't work, you could try happiness. Many people report that
happiness is surprisingly effective in combating despair; similar
results have been reported for joy.
And if *that* doesn't work, remember: The four steering wheels of the
mind are will, belief, reflex, and expectation. If your will is broken,
you just have to learn how to alter belief, reflex, and expectation.
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://pobox.com/~sentience/beyond.html
Member, Extropy Institute
Senior Associate, Foresight Institute
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