I don’t disagree, but I don’t think it’s limited to EA or Rationalist community members, and I wouldn’t expect that designated group helper contacts will reach most of the people who need it. It’s been my experience (for myself and for a number of friends) that when someone can use this kind of help, they tend not to “reach out” for it.
Your framing of “we should intervene” may have more promise. Having specific advice on HOW lay-people can intervene would go a long way toward shifting our norms of discourse from “you seem depressed, maybe you should seek help” to “this framing may indicate a depressive episode or negative emotional feedback loop—please take a look at <this page/thread> to help figure out who you can talk with about it”.
I don’t disagree, but I don’t think it’s limited to EA or Rationalist community members, and I wouldn’t expect that designated group helper contacts will reach most of the people who need it. It’s been my experience (for myself and for a number of friends) that when someone can use this kind of help, they tend not to “reach out” for it.
Your framing of “we should intervene” may have more promise. Having specific advice on HOW lay-people can intervene would go a long way toward shifting our norms of discourse from “you seem depressed, maybe you should seek help” to “this framing may indicate a depressive episode or negative emotional feedback loop—please take a look at <this page/thread> to help figure out who you can talk with about it”.