I used to suffer from clinical depression.  I've still got it, I just don't suffer from it any more.  Between an anti-depressant to take care of the chemical aspects and some techniques to deal with the habits, I live a happy and fulfilled life.  I was recently involved in a discussion of clinical depression and it's obvious that there's still a lot of ignorance out there.   So let me light my candle on this issue.  Because the most important message of all about depression is, there is hope.

What it isn't

Depression isn't just the blues, it isn't just being sad.  Depression is a debilitating state where your ability to live your life is affected.  It needs to be taken seriously.

Clinical depression is a biochemical problem, where the person's mood is stuck between pitch black and dark gray.  Telling people with clinical depression to snap out of it or to think happy thoughts is as effective as telling someone with a broken arm to snap out of it or think happy thoughts.  The happy thoughts may make the situation more tolerable, but it doesn't take care of it.

There are non-chemical depressions. These respond to different treatments, but they are very real and deserve the same respect and concern that clinical depression gets.

If you think you may suffer from depression, there are several quizzes to help you self-diagnose depression.  One is from MentalHealth.Net.  No online quiz can take the place of a consultation with a doctor who understands depression, but it's a start.  For me, the indicator of slipping back into depression is when I lose my passions for life.  Depression kills passions.

Take a happy pill

I'm so glad I wrote that headline above and nobody else, because I hate the term "Happy Pill".  It feeds the notion that depression is just not being happy and so treatment is just a way of becoming happy.

As I said above, depression locks people into a range of moods from ultimately bad to bad.  If the problem is a chemical imbalance in the brain, an anti-depression can unlock the moods.  When I take my anti-depressants, my moods swing from elation to despair, and that's OK, that's normal.  Even a good honest despair is better than being trapped in depression.

There are a variety of different anti-depressants, and different people react differently to those drugs.  Prozac didn't help me, but Elavil (technical name is amitriptyline) does, as does Celexa.  So if you suffer from depression and one medication doesn't work, don't give up.

So you find the pill that's right for you, and that takes care of everything, right?  No.  If you've been living in depression for a while (and that's almost always the case), you develop depressive habits.  You've got to unlearn those habits, to fight them.  I'm still working on it, but after a few years I'm far better off than I was when I started.

Other treatments

Anti-depressants aren't always necessary, aren't always the best way.  If there is something screwing up your chemistry, the side effect of some other drug, maybe there's a way to change that.  Some people have found the ability to make changes in their diet or activities that made changes, others have used meditation.  Consider what makes sense for you..  Just be vary wary of anyone who tells you "I have the answer!"

And take it seriously.  It's real.  And you deserve to work on it.

Don Brown's Essential Truths of Depression

I've come up with a few things in my years of dealing with depression  These may be of use to you.

1.  Depression lies to you  If you're in the grip of depression, your values are going to be affected by it.  Be very careful.  Bounce things off a friend.  Don't do something you'll regret when you get to normal.

2.  Depression's greatest club is that there is no hope  Humans can endure things in the hope that things will get better.  But depression lies to you (see truth #1) and tells you there is no hope, things will not get better, so why bother enduring?  As soon as you accept that this is a lie, you've taken away it's greatest weapon.

3.  Depression kills passion  If you've lost your passion, if you can't get excited (happily or angrily) about things that made you excited, that may be a sign that you've slipped into depression.

4.  Passion kills depression  Once the chemical causes are taken care of, the best way I've found of getting myself out of the habits of depression is to light an ember of passion and fan it.  It can be something I really like, it can be something I really hate, just something I'm passionate about.

5.  Friends are your best asset  Make it clear to your friends that they can talk to you if they see something wrong in your mood, your friends will often see things before you do.  And when you're trying to ignite a passion, friends can help.  The instinct in depression is to push people away.  Fight that instinct.

6.  There is always hope  Depression can be dealt with.  You can beat it.  Clinical or not, deep or mild, you can make it through depression and get out of it.  Reach out for help, dig deep for resources, or grit your teeth and hang on.  Just don't give up, because you don't have to.

If I have seen farther than others, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants  -- Isaac Newton

I am here because friends helped me through my problems.  I am here because many people have worked through this in the past.  Ask for help if you need it, we've been there.

In my article on fat advocacy, I listed a series of subjects I didn't want to talk about.  If you need to talk about depression, I want to talk to you.  The view is fantastic from up here on the shoulders,  come on up.

Donald Brown