I really didn’t think I’d be saying this… but I genuinely feel ChatGPT has positively impacted my mental health.

I often use it as a therapist. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but it actually works pretty well. It has an exceptionally high EQ and often uses language far better than I ever could to help uncover the thoughts and feelings I’m processing.

Sometimes, just finding the right words to express myself relieves a great deal of stress, and by God, these bots are good with words…

I feel ashamed to admit this in public, but...me too. The barrier to entry is so much lower than therapy, I feel less anxiety about explaining my situation correctly, and I can quickly start over with a "new therapist" whenever I want.

Is it a replacement? No, of course not. But boy if it isn't a big help.

The only issue is that it needs a good user. Just as you can work your way into good insights, you can work yourself into bad insights just as easily. Sometimes chatgpt doesn't challenge you enough unless you ask it to under specific frameworks or paradigms. It is definitely a useful tool though.

Edit: These are all problems with real therapy too though, on further reflection. It took some time to find the therapist that works well with you. That can be a form of similar bias.

I'm a senior citizen and I use it sometimes to explain what is happening to me as I age. For example, I noticed myself doing "excessive rumination" about the long gone past, which I attributed to the near-dystopian nightmare I am living through in the U.S. presently.

I asked ChatGPT about it and it said, no, excessive rumination is a problem for many people as they age due to various factors. Then it suggested some remedies, which is very good for my mental health.

A good heuristic test of correlation vs causation in headlines: flip the dependent and independent variable and see which explanation sounds more reasonable.

Heavy llm chat usage leads to loneliness | or | Loneliness leads to heavy chat usage.

To my eye the second seems far more likely than the first.

Wet streets cause rain.

I like the innovative use of public gaslighting in the same vein as "drugs are bad" and "psychedelics will make everyone mad". I rush in panic to vote that we should regulate all chatbots schedule 1, prevent the masses accessing them, and let them only be used by the elites in secret. It was always gonna be this way, governments are terrified of individuals getting more power and control.

I also totally agree with the other commenters: chatbots can be great for expressing to, and gaining perspective.

Correlation vs. causation is so important when looking at this data.

Yes. The article gets into this, but buried pretty deep below the fold. Disappointing.