Having read the comments of the other sufferers I felt I had to add my feelings.I have suffered with dark times since i can remember but only realising it fully when I lost my beloved Mum.I too try all different methods to feel good apart from medication,but as I'm approaching the menopause and feeling worse, I am feeling this is the only solution for me,leaving me to believe that it is scientific also,as I have a loving family ect,and do a lot to help myself.Next job is to read I had a black dog and Guide to zen living.Thanks for the tip!

Yvonne , Lancs, UK

I agree that some authors simply do not understand depression. In fact I don't think you can until you have been there. How often the words guilt and wickedness are tossed around. I do not feel guilty, I do not feel wicked. I simply feel depressed.

PL, London, England

Clinical depression have a couple of episodes and if you don't
take a maintenance med. you are in the 90 percentile to have
another one.
I've taken prozac for years (I'm 68 yrs old) and I have a very
clear idea of what my life would be without it.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA

Clinical depression have a couple of episodes and if you don't
take a maintenance med. you are in the 90 percentile to have
another one.
I've taken prozac for years (I'm 68 yrs old) and I have a very
clear idea of what my life would be without it.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA

I agree that there isn't just one answer to depression. This is what worked for me. The pat answers in Dr. Rowe's article regarding origins/solutions of depression show only that she does not have a genuine understanding of what depression is actually like. I've suffered depression since I was about 12 years old. I didn't have "episodes" of depression, I was simply depressed all of the time. Through the years I began researching my family and discovered that depression runs in mine. There've been suicides along with tremendous difficulties dealing with the extreme shyness which continues to show up now and then in one child or another. Newest research indicates that these characteristics may be inherited; that in some persons depression and shyness appear to go hand-in-hand and I believe this is probably true of my family and definitely in myself. I have been taking the antidepressant Paxil daily for about the last 10 years (I'm 70) and I cannot imagine my life without it.

NZH, Whittier, California

Supposedly I have been suffering from depression since I was a child. No Doctors or therapists could truly help me, so I began reading in order to help myself.

So far, I have read that depression is linked to traumatic brain injury, sexual abuse or sexual trauma at any age, food allergies, hormonal and autoimmune problems such as low thyroid, an insufficient amount of sunlight, not being breast fed, vision problems, chronic pain, not being held as an infant, having violence in the home, abusive older siblings, and so on.

While this article is informative and reinforces my own desire to continue to help myself with positive thinking and self-help tools, it still shows a lack of understanding of what depression is.

Usually, I can't figure out the originating point of the waves of depression that come over me. I truly believe it is an organic physical problem exacerbated by life events. Depression can't be cured by lifting oneself up by the bootstraps or by saying platitudes.

Victoria, Virginia Beach, VA USA

Wow so many thoughts on depression. None of them are totaly right and none of them are totaly wrong. I noticed in one comment that it was mentioned that as humans we are all unique and thus our depression is unique, I wholeheartedly agree with that. I am also a person that has battled depression for a long time and there are times when I think I have a handle on it and other times it hits me in "waves" like someone else mentioned. Some of my deprs. is negative thoughts about myself or the world in general, but sometimes it really is a chemical imbalance. Medications help me with the chemical imbalance, cognative therapy helps me with the negative thoughts. Learnign some of my triggers also helps. If I can feel a 'wave' coming on then I do avoid the news and sappy shows. If I am physically able I will try taking a walk, if I am know it is a good option for the particular episode of depression, if not I will find another form of relief. Depression is too complex for just 1 solution.

Karen, Truxton, MO, United States

I have suffered depression since 2003 and now recognise that I had depressive episodes going back way before then. However, since I read (and have re-read at least six times!) 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living' I have been able to reduce my medication with a view to finally stopping, and also reduce my therapy again with a view to stopping. Since reading and re-reading 'Zen Living' I have been able to cope pretty well with my life situation even though very little has changed from the situation that triggered this episode of depression in the first place. I write this in the hope that this book may be of help to others with his malady. I came across it via a review in amzon.com by someone who found it helped with manic-depression and I feel obliged to pass the tip on. Good Luck!

AB, Frankfurt, Germany

The idea that depression starts with a negative view of self is just silly. Maybe that works for people who aren't really depressed, just in a state of sadness. Of course, the term "depression" is such a bad way to describe whatever it is. Now that I am in my thirties, I can better prepare myself for the (what I call) "waves" before they come in, because whatever it is, it comes crashing in on me. No positive thinking can stop it. I can deal with it better by doing some things, but telling myself I am a good person is poppycock. If I survive an episode without self destructive behavior, then it consider it a success.

pat, upstate, NY

Anyone who is living in this world at this time has to have
mood swings, or else they must be gobbling
enough pharmaceuticals to be in a fog about reality.
The way to face depression and overcome it is by
contradicting your impulse to label feelings as "bad". Rather than
tell yourself you're "depressed" and giving it a negative label,
tell yourself this is an "experience" and accept it. This is a key
tenant in a philosophy known as "superoptimism".

josiah smollet, Fairfield, CT/USA

Many of the postings within this dialogue have done nothing to change my opinions of how misunderstood the condition of depression is. Having read them all, then the cure appears to be simply not to read 'Hello' nor 'OK' magazines, to ignore newspapers, and to sit back and revel in the 'experience' that a depressive episode gives to a person! These, together with the 'evolutionary adaptionist approach' recommended by a contributor, give no credence to the fact that we are not all the same, nor do we react to situations in the same way. Neither do the arguments acknowledge or accept that personal circumstances can help or hinder a person's capacity to 'weather the storms' of life.

KT, Abingdon, UK

Anyone who is living in this world at this time has to have
mood swings, or else they must be gobbling
enough pharmaceuticals to be in a fog about reality.
The way to face depression and overcome it is by
contradicting your impulse to label feelings as "bad". Rather than
tell yourself you're "depressed" and giving it a negative label,
tell yourself this is an "experience" and accept it. This is a key
tenant in a philosophy known as "superoptimism".

josiah smollet, Fairfield, CT/USA

I think we are all susceptible to depression. However if you have a mindset of perfectionism (for whatever reason - background, experience) then we are all the more elegantly ready for it. if you read magazines that criticise celebrities for their humanity then you are well on the way to the mindset that leads to depression. We all need to accept that we are all human and we MUST not judge people for their experiences in this miracle that we call the world. Remember, all is well, and all shall be well

cathy, Melbourne, Australia

Somebody told me once that ignorance is bliss. So I stopped reading newspapers and worrying about politics and current affairs and how the world is falling apart and guess what? They were right - ignorance really is bliss!

Rod Munch, Northampton, UK

Despite all the research and the plethora of articles on the subject, very few people are able to understand and acknowledge the severity and complexity of the depressives' situation. ACB's contribution, above, citing the occupying of a 'parallel universe' hits the nail on the head; depression does feel very much like being on the outside, looking in at all times. Trying to then connect with someone who remains on that other side becomes impossible, and failing to do so just reinforces one's feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness.
D. Rowe's acknowledgement of how self absorbed the condition makes a person is quite telling; whilst in the throes of my latest depression, I have been constantly reminded of how 'selfish' I have become, almost to the point of neglecting my own family. This in turn makes me feel even guiltier; it is good, therefore, to know that I am neither unique nor selfish, simply depressed.

KT, Abingdon, UK

Depression is a silent killer. I've felt for years that I'm not worth the energy to save. Having a wife & children are no cure. Going for a walk in the countryside doesn't help. CBT helped. It makes you aware of negative thoughts as negative thoughts. Not just background noise in your mind but poisin dripping upon your open wound, whatever that may be. I've battled depression for 20 years and almost lost last year. At a cost of thousands I got some help, which enabled me to help myself. Now I have no savings but do have a future. Not a bright futre but mine anyway.

martin shiels, kempston, beds,

ACB feels trapped. I think the word trapped is encompassing the essence of a depression. To be depressed means that one cannot discover the way out, even when following the exit sign.
The average GP is not equipped with the necessary knowledge. Therefore I suggest to look for a qualified therapist for starters.
I remember vry well this first step of a long journey. It was a bumpy ride, but it took me to and far beyond the exit.

ed, vancouver, bc

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (such as Prozac) combined with Cognitive and Bevahioural therapy and exercise are probably the best short term strategy for depressed people. However, in the long term, it seems vital to me to understand depression in an evolutionary context. Doing so can, initially, be slightly frightening, but improved understanding can be of vital assistance in the longer term. For an understanding of the issues, try typing the following into Google "An Evolutionary Adaptationist Theory of Unipolar Depression". That will take you to an excellent web site maintained by Paul J. Watson.

Peter, Ealing, London

Hmm...
Put this way, it seems there is a way forward, but the problem can be that whn in the grip of a depressive period, there appear to be no easy exit routes. At times I can feel that I am capable of making a contribution to others' lives and development, but at t oher tiimes a sense of worthlessness and inability to connect to others indicates a lack of an "anchor" to the rest of the world. I occupy a parallel universe. Medication does not appear to relieve the symptoms; I need to identify the cause, but fear that my GP is not the world's greatest diagnostician. Therefore, I feel trapped. Maybe Matthew Johnsotne's book will help; we shall see

ACB, Codsall, UK