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childhood

How Lasting is the Impact of Emotional Abuse in Childhood?

by John Folk-Williams 26 Comments

I’ve worked for a long time on rebuilding self-esteem, though I’ve never been sure whether the lack of it contributed to depression or the depression killed off the self-esteem. It hardly matters. When I was a kid, that confident, robust me, sure of who he was, feeling like a whole person, apparently never made it […]

Filed Under: Children and Depression, Depression Causes, Self-Esteem Tagged With: childhood, depression, family, psychological abuse, trauma

Finding Safe Haven from Childhood Fear

by John Folk-Williams 29 Comments

Finding safe haven from childhood fear

A psychiatrist friend once summarized a basic tendency he saw in children from their earliest years. He said that a child could grow up either trusting the people and world he lived in or feeling insecure and uncertain about them. A child would either feel safe or unsafe, and a lot depended on this basic […]

Filed Under: Children and Depression Tagged With: childhood, family, fear, safety, trust

Trying to Be Selective about Self-Acceptance

by John Folk-Williams 5 Comments

Broken Glass Window

The boy took careful aim with his lever-action BB gun and fired off the first shot. The tiny pellet pierced one of the windows of the tall tree-house, and jagged cracks radiated from the pinhole it made. The house was nestled securely in the giant crook of an oak tree that stood right next to […]

Filed Under: Children and Depression, Psychotherapy Tagged With: acceptance, Anger, attachment, childhood, compassion, self

The Love Hidden in Family Depression

by John Folk-Williams 13 Comments

family love coming into the light

I’ve written about emotional abuse in my boyhood and a family history of depression as big contributors to my own illness, but recently I’ve spent more time reconnecting with the things that went right all those years ago rather than dwelling only on what went wrong. The positive side is simply the love that has […]

Filed Under: Reslience Tagged With: childhood, family, father, feelings, love, memory

The Costly Mercy of Lost Feelings

by John Folk-Williams 5 Comments

Boy standing by a frozen river

I’ve been working on a new ebook about recovery and came across this early post on lost feelings. It resonated with me so I thought I would post it again in this revised version. A breakthrough to healing can come at the most unexpected time. The other night I was trying to divert myself by […]

Filed Under: Children and Depression, Healing Tagged With: childhood, emotion, family, grief, guilt, relationships

Peter’s Recovery Story – Part 1

by John Folk-Williams

Boy alone on country road

Peter told his recovery story as an extended comment recently, and I wanted to give it a more prominent place as another in our ongoing series of personal stories. Because of its length, it will be posted in two parts. During the last ten years or so, whenever the emotional roller coaster of my life […]

Filed Under: Recovery Stories Tagged With: childhood, emotional abuse, father, self-esteem, teenage depression

Recovery Stories: Tony Giordano

by John Folk-Williams 1 Comment

Every story about depression is a little different. But when you can see the big picture, a lot of parallels start to appear. Although I had gone through some rough spots here and there, my life was moving along alright overall until depression struck in my mid-forties. When I learned I was clinically depressed, I […]

Filed Under: Recovery Stories Tagged With: childhood, trauma, work

John’s Recovery Story

by John Folk-Williams 21 Comments

Recovery

A recovery story is a messy thing. It has dozens of beginnings and no final ending. Most of the conflict and drama is internal, and there’s a lot more inaction than action. The lead character hides in the shadows much of the time, so you can’t even see what’s going on. I joined up with […]

Filed Under: Recovery Stories Tagged With: childhood, teenage depression, treatment

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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.

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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

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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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