Summary
Tim Ferriss shares his interview from the 10% Happier podcast with Dan Harris, discussing how he has fundamentally changed his approach to life. Ferriss details his latest experience with accelerated TMS, including a breakthrough one-day protocol using D-cycloserine pre-dosing that produced results comparable to or better than previous five-day courses. He describes the SAINT protocol producing 70-80% remission rates for depression and explains how TMS is available in major cities but not widely covered by insurance. The conversation also explores the traps of self-optimization, the importance of relationships as an antidote to isolation, and the power of saying no.
Key Points
- Ferriss did a one-day accelerated TMS session pre-dosed with D-cycloserine, achieving results better than previous five-day protocols
- The SAINT protocol, developed at Stanford, produces 70-80% remission of depression with durable effects
- Accelerated TMS compresses three to five months of conventional treatment into one week of hourly sessions
- Hardware manufacturers Brainsway and MagVenture are two vetted TMS device makers to look for
- Accelerated TMS is available in major cities but generally not covered by insurance
- Relationships and social connection are the primary counterbalance to anxiety and isolation
- Ferriss warns about the dangers of over-optimization and treating self-improvement as an end rather than a means
Key Moments
What accelerated TMS is and how it compresses treatment
Ferriss introduces accelerated TMS to the audience, explaining how it compresses months of conventional brain stimulation into an intensive one-week protocol.
"There is something that some of your listeners may have never heard of, which is accelerated TMS. TMS stands for transcranial magnetic stimulation. It's a type of brain stimulation that has existed for decades."
SAINT protocol remission rates and treatment schedule
Ferriss describes the intensive treatment schedule of accelerated TMS and its impressive 70-80% remission rates for depression developed at Stanford.
"In the case of accelerated TMS, you're taking what you might do over three, four, five months, and you're compressing it into one week. So every hour on the hour, 10 hours a day for one week."
Breakthrough one-day protocol with D-cycloserine
Ferriss describes his Hail Mary one-day accelerated TMS session pre-dosed with D-cycloserine, which produced a switch-like effect the next day, eliminating anxiety for months.
"And I started to lose hope again because I thought this was going to be a replicable, reliable tool that I could use. I was so excited and did a Hail Mary kind of last-ditch round with the accelerated TMS recently. I did this in Northern California. Instead of doing five days, so keep in mind, it's like, let's just call it three months of TMS gets compressed into five days. Instead of doing five days, I did one day, but I pre-dosed with something called D-cycloserine DCS, as it's sometimes referred to in the literature, is in many ways an antiquated antibiotic that used to be used for tuberculosis and sometimes urinary tract infections, which affects the NMDA receptors in such a way, I think it's a partial antagonist."
Availability and insurance coverage of accelerated TMS
Ferriss discusses the practical accessibility of accelerated TMS, noting it is available in major cities but generally not covered by insurance, making the D-cycloserine protocol exciting for cost reduction.
"Accelerated TMS is available in a lot of major cities. It is not as widely distributed as I would like because it is generally not covered by insurance."
