Discover more from Depresh Mode
Things that help: tablets of ketamine, laws protecting LGBTQ people, years of therapy
Hey, you gotta find what works for you
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists on the podcast
Colin Meloy, the lead singer and lyricist for the Portland-based band The Decemberists, has alluded to anxiety and impostor syndrome in various interviews over the years but, according to him, he hasn’t gone into the detail that he did in the latest episode of Depresh Mode.
Colin says both these issues have been present for many years. They’ve led to the cancellation of at least one tour and eaten at him through years of therapy and diving deep into the teachings of Jon Kabat-Zinn. As the band grew from being a collection of musicians doing unusual work in Portland to selling out large venues and placing high on the charts, the issues only grew because there were more and more people counting on Colin as the leader of the group.
After years of therapy, Colin’s challenges are more under control but not solved. He’s going to have to manage them forever, as is the case with so many of us.
Laws protecting LGBTQ people help mental health, save lives
Because we live in the times we do, LGBTQ Americans are under attack, not just from homophobic harassment and violence but from government initiatives. Conversely, some states have taken measures to protect these people and those protections, according to new research, go a long way.
In 2023, a FiveThirtyEight analysis found more than 100 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have passed in the last five years with more than half of them passing last year.
More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced throughout the 2024 legislative session, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Such policies can have a negative impact on mental health.
"LGBTQ people are not at higher risk for suicide or other mental health challenges because of anything inherent in who we are. It's about how we're treated," Casey Pick, director of law and policy for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focusing on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth.
These biases and discrimination can take shape as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation including forced outing in schools, school sports bans, banning gender-affirming care for minors, criminalizing drag performances, book bans and limiting the ability of LGBTQ+ people to foster or adopt children.
New tablet-form ketamine treatment for depression helps avoid side effects
Ketamine has been helping people with treatment-resistant depression for a while, but it comes with some risks. A new slow-release tablet form of the drug might be able to address that and lead to easier and safer treatment.
The drug is typically administered intravenously or through a nasal spray. Both of these methods can cause side effects, including high blood pressure, elevated heart rate and dissociation, which causes people to feel disconnected from their body and their surroundings.
Previous analyses have suggested that slow-release formulations of ketamine tend to have fewer side effects2. Glue and his colleagues therefore proposed that an extended-release tablet could be a well-tolerated and convenient option for people with severe or treatment-resistant depression. They developed a ketamine-containing pill called R-107 and gave it to 231 study participants, all of whom had a major depressive disorder that had not improved despite trying at least two antidepressants.
The Death Star, a walkable utopia, destroyed by terrorists
This made me laugh. From McSweeney’s.
You couldn’t bear to watch us walk with our friends to work or see us enjoy the bonding comforts of a carefully designed, open-plan, living-first colony. It’s honestly sad.
Coming in your massive, individual vehicles—not a single one of you carpooled. It’s classic rebel exceptionalism.
Brian Stack on Sleeping with Celebrities
Brian is one of my favorite funny people and has been for a long time, through his years on the various Conan shows and now on Colbert. In the last few years, I’ve come to know him personally a little and he’s a swell guy. In the latest installment of Sleeping With Celebrities, he relates some celebrity encounters.
If you’ve watched Conan O’Brien’s shows or Late Night with Stephen Colbert, you’ve probably seen Brian Stack playing a wide range of characters, including Frankenstein and one of the Slip Nuts. He’s been a writer and performer for both shows, which has meant running across a huge number of famous people. Here, Brian counts down his top five celebrity encounters to lull you to sleep. Doze off to dreamland hearing about awkward conversation with Walter Cronkite and relationship advice from Mötley Crüe.