https://blog.thomas-bray.com/tags/discount-rates/Recent content in Discount-Rates on Rabid CuriosityHugoen-usThomas BrayThu, 23 Apr 2026 06:30:00 -0500https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/monetary-discount-rates-and-depression/Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:30:00 -0500https://blog.thomas-bray.com/posts/monetary-discount-rates-and-depression/<h2 id="the-performance-of-planning">The Performance of Planning</h2> <p>In my worst depressive episodes, making plans felt like church youth group theatre. I was performing.</p> <p>The audience was a small cast: authority figures who needed to believe I had my life together, and myself — the harshest critic, who knew exactly how hollow the performance was. I would map out courses each semester with the same enthusiasm I might bring to a role I did not want. To my professors and advisors, I appeared organized. To my peers, I seemed to have it figured out. The secret was that planning itself had become a coping mechanism, a way to generate the appearance of forward motion while standing perfectly still.</p>