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Applying the model of “everything is one” dissolves state boundaries. There are no internal or external systems. Though in practice, there are still “parts” of the system that are affected.

A depressed pet exists in a depressed state like an orphaned sub-system. The owner is gone yet still exists via the huge empty negative space it paces around. The pet shouts into the same empty void but there is no longer a return echo.

Depression then can be defined as a closed system that has no source of external newness. That is, it’s a disconnected system. It’s deeper than loneliness because the last lifeline has been cut.

The warning pain of loneliness shuts off as this last line is severed and numbness sets in.

Enlightenment models offers resistance because if there is only one system then by definition there is no such thing as something external. There is no newness when everything is connected.

This implies that system size also offers resistance against depression since it allows for novelty to exist outside the limits of what can be consciously grasped.

Why these models don’t offer infinite joy and immunity against depression is similar to why endless video games and youtube videos don’t offer endless distraction.

The ability to abstract compresses the world so that true novelty is increasingly difficult to come by. You can’t step in the same river twice but the brain doesn’t give a fuck. It’s purely dedicated to surviving despite god, not trying to merge with god. (death)