What does "loop on itself" mean in this context? The article repeats it 5 times but I can't find a thesaurus definition, and it's unclear to me if the author means it as a synonym repeat or *self-amplify or something different.

My impression was that the author was referring to *self-amplifying like a positive feedback loop.

I agree I would have loved more of a hard / concrete definition oriented approach to the whole piece but everything they were saying really resonated at least in terms of my personal experience. I haven't ever come across a writer focusing on this. It was really unexpected / refreshing. It's already is reshaping little moments in my day like hugging my son just now. Very unexpected transcendental value for an HN skim while ignoring a boring zoom standup. The truth is out there.

Mentioning this and "hot" in the same sentence put me in a very Marshall McLuhan context.

Personal computing and the growth of the internet are an example of something looping. They reinforce and amplify each other's impact and value.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrad_of_media_effects

> What does "loop on itself" mean in this context?

What it means is understood by looking at its converse - panic attack. Wherein, anxiety stirs some negative thoughts which stirs even more anxiety which stirs more negativity and so on until the system seizes - or that has been my understanding of it.

Here, positivity feeds joy which feeds more positivity etc..

I understood as self-amplify, like a feedback loop

He’s talking about spiraling or virtuous/vicious cycles, as relates to your hormones.

Case in point