Exactly.

I spent decades hoping for the ability to invoke those bursts. Days of unexplainable block until a deadline was really close, so the anxiety spike could trigger a few hours of focus. I then did the work of a week in an evening/night, and back to square one.

It REALLY wasn't fun continuously worrying that people will think I'm slacking off while an invisible barrier kept me from working.

I’m younger at mid thirties, but I was recently diagnosed with a career and personal life already “in check” so my experience might be useful.

I’d 100% recommend you go for a check. For me, the main outcome has been getting rid of the nagging feeling that my potential is wasted in making up for shortcomings.

Now it’s no longer “I am bright and curious, and this compensates my {lack of consistency, periods of “writers block”, reduced attention to detail}”. It’s hard to explain without direct experience how cleanly those problems you’ve been trying to white knuckle all your life just… stop. It’s not a personality change, it’s much closer to allergy meds letting you breathe, the bad symptom goes away.

The only con is that once you get the meds there’s work to be done. The productivity tips and books you’ve likely heard all your life and were unusable now can actually be put to practice… but you haven’t done it yet.

So it’s like you stop being bedridden but if you want to be fit you still have to go the gym. It’s just that now going to the gym is a task you can realistically approach, and that in itself is a game changer.

It's the wrong question. If an unlicensed therapist verifiably encourages someone to kill themselves...we don't entertain the counterfactual and wonder if the person was bound to do it anyway.

Instead, we put the unlicensed therapist in jail.

> I have to wonder: would the suicide have been prevented if chatGPT didn't exist?

I'd say yes, because the signs would have to surface somewhere else, probably in an interaction with a human, who (un)consciously saved him with a simple gesture.

With a simple discussion, an alternative perspective on a problem, or a sidekick who can support someone for a day or two, many lives can and do change.

We're generally not aware though.

> Because if that's not at least a "maybe", I feel like chatGPT did provide comfort in a dire situation here.

That's a pretty concerning take. You can provide comfort to someone who is despondent, and you can do it in a way that doesn't steer them closer to ending their life. That takes training though, and it's not something these models are anywhere close to being able to handle.