Scott Alexander proposes a theory of depression as a recalibrated happiness set point, drawing parallels with fever and anorexia, to explain why depressed people seek out sad stimuli. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the puzzling behavior of depressed people preferring sad music, despite it making them feel worse. He proposes a theory based on control theory and set points, comparing depression to conditions like fever and anorexia. The post suggests that depression might involve a recalibrated happiness set point, where the body defends an abnormally low mood through both biological and behavioral mechanisms. Scott also discusses potential research directions and connects this theory to predictive coding concepts. Shorter summary

Scott reviews a book on culture-bound syndromes, expanding the discussion to how all mental illnesses are influenced by culture to varying degrees. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'The Geography of Madness' by Frank Bures, which explores culture-bound syndromes like koro (belief in penis theft by witches). The book traces the history and spread of these syndromes across cultures. Scott expands on the idea, discussing how all mental illnesses exist on a spectrum of biological vs. cultural influence. He argues that even conditions considered 'real' in Western psychiatry, like anorexia or PTSD, have significant cultural components. The review touches on complex issues around gender dysphoria and cultural beliefs, concluding that there is no truly 'neutral' culture free from influence on mental health presentations. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Crazy Like Us', exploring how Western mental health concepts spread globally and whether raising awareness of mental health problems might make them worse. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Crazy Like Us' by Ethan Watters, which explores how Western mental health concepts are spreading globally. The book presents case studies on anorexia in Hong Kong, depression in Japan, PTSD in Sri Lanka, and schizophrenia in Zanzibar. While Scott finds the book's main thesis only moderately interesting, he's intrigued by a recurring sub-theme: whether raising awareness of mental health problems might actually make them worse. He discusses each case study, offering his own insights and critiques, and concludes by imagining a culture that runs 'Mental Health Unawareness Campaigns'. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores anorexia's biological aspects beyond cultural factors, presenting and analyzing del Giudice's 'self-starvation cycle' theory as a more comprehensive explanation of the disorder. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses anorexia, acknowledging its cultural component but emphasizing the biological aspects that persist even when cultural factors are no longer relevant. He presents del Giudice's 'self-starvation cycle' theory from 'Evolutionary Psychopathology', which suggests that initial food restriction, whether voluntary or involuntary, can trigger a biological response in predisposed individuals leading to ongoing anorexia. The post critiques purely cultural explanations of anorexia and highlights the limitations of current therapeutic approaches that focus solely on body image issues. Scott notes some weaknesses in the theory, particularly in explaining why not all starvation leads to anorexia, but overall finds it a useful model for understanding aspects of the disorder often overlooked by other explanations. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander speculates that anorexia might be caused by a distorted metabolic set point, similar to but opposite of obesity's mechanisms. Longer summary

Scott Alexander speculates about a possible biological mechanism for anorexia nervosa, drawing parallels with obesity and the body's metabolic set point. He suggests that severe underfeating might cause the hypothalamus to become hypersensitive to leptin, leading to a distorted set point where the body thinks it's too fat even at dangerously low weights. He supports this idea with observations about anorexics' fidgeting behavior, which resembles the body's unconscious weight control mechanisms, and mentions studies showing brain lesions can cause anorexia-like symptoms. While acknowledging he's not an expert and this is speculative, Scott hopes more research will explore these connections between anorexia and metabolic set point theory. Shorter summary