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Purpose

Re-Reading the Story of Depression’s Meaning

by John Folk-Williams 20 Comments

Stories of depression's meaning

There are no more beautiful and moving stories of healing than those told by Rachel Naomi Remen. Kitchen Table Wisdom is one of those books I come back to again and again. Each of its brief stories renders a moment of discovery that reveals a life’s meaning to someone lost in pain or rigid routine. […]

Filed Under: Purpose, Reconnecting Tagged With: depression, life, meaning, Rachel Naomi Remen, self, survival, Viktor Frankl

Stories to Explain My Life with Depression

by John Folk-Williams 11 Comments

stories of depression

Stories can be an immediate and moving way to learn about someone because they evoke the feelings and experience that factual details never can. When told with honesty and sincerity, a story helps establish a bond of trust because the teller has been willing to open such personal insight to the listener. For me, certain […]

Filed Under: Purpose, Self-Esteem Tagged With: belief, depression, hope, life, meaning

Does Finding Purpose in Life Help You Overcome Depression?

by John Folk-Williams 61 Comments

Finding purpose in life to overcome depression

Finding purpose in life that goes beyond your personal needs is often mentioned as a major step in overcoming depression. That’s a hard thing to imagine, though, when you’re in the middle of a severe relapse, and survival is the only goal in sight. Yet, one of the hallmarks of depression is loss of motivation […]

Filed Under: Purpose, Self-Help Tagged With: life, meaning, well-being

From Depression Through Recovery to Life as Creative Experience

by John Folk-Williams 12 Comments

All that I am, all that life has made me, every past experience that I have had – woven into the tissue of my life – I must give to … new experience. … We integrate our experience, and then the richer human being that we are goes into the new experience; again we give […]

Filed Under: Mindfulness, Purpose Tagged With: experience, life

Overcoming Resistance

by John Folk-Williams 14 Comments

Overcoming resistance

Writing is a way of reclaiming my mind from depression, but there is a darker side to it called resistance. I won’t call it writer’s block because the same thing stands in the way of any purposeful activity or major life commitment, including the process of recovering from depression. It usually begins only after I […]

Filed Under: Purpose, Self-Help Tagged With: fear, resistance, soul, success, writing

Depression at Work-3: Should You Change Your Job or Your Life?

by John Folk-Williams 210 Comments

Sooner or later depression forces you to make changes in your worklife. If adapting at your present job doesn’t help, then it’s probably time to look at other possibilities. However difficult, impractical or even impossible the alternatives might seem, it’s worth considering what else you could do.

This post looks at three strategies that could help you manage depression by changing your work situation: frequent job changes, getting out of a toxic work environment, or changing the type of work you do. These are a few ideas to help you come up with your own solution. At the least, they might help you ask the right questions about what you want and need.

Filed Under: Depression at Work, Purpose Tagged With: change, life, stress, work

Has Depression Become Part of Your Identity?

by John Folk-Williams 106 Comments

I can pinpoint a moment when I came to believe that depression was not just an illness that struck from time to time but part of my identity as a person. I was talking with a friend one day about how big a problem depression had become. He thought it must be brought on by […]

Filed Under: Purpose, Self-Esteem Tagged With: depression, diagnosis, identity, self

Lost in Place, Finding Home

by John Folk-Williams 21 Comments

Simple things can overwhelm, turn me upside down, submerge who I am in a great wave. I was turned over once as a kid, swimming at a beach near LA, the ocean churning and huge. I tried to jump into a breaker and ride it in, but the surge tossed me up in its gritty […]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Depression Symptoms, Purpose Tagged With: depression, fear, panic, thinking, wellness

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Surviving Depression Together Now Available at Major Retailers

Surviving Depression Together


Surviving Depression Together

"John, this is a ... much needed resource. Thanks for writing it!"

- Therese Borchard, author of Beyond Blue


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A Mind for Life Ebook Now Available at Major Retailers

A Mind for Life: From Depression to Living Well

A Mind for Life Ebook

The inner work of getting your life back from depression. This ebook is now available in most common ebook formats at major retailers.

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Living Depressed

Depression affects emotions, mental abilities, self-concept, behavior, relationships and the entire body. These core posts describe the full range of symptoms affecting daily life. Read More.

Choices in Healing

Hoping for recovery gives you a motive but not a method for getting there. This section has posts about therapies and healing methods you can work with either on your own or with professional guidance. Read more.

Living Well

If you've learned how to manage your depression, you'll want a fulfilling life rather than one dominated by fear that the illness might return. In this section, you'll find posts about how to work toward that goal. Read More

Relationships in Crisis

One of the hardest challenges of living with depression is holding onto your closest relationships. This section features posts on how to help a relationship survive. Read More.

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