I once knew a gifted man, a born teacher of imagination and play. He taught children as a natural part of his instinct for life, and he taught the rest of us resilience in the face of illness. Steven and his lifelong friend Maria arrived in town one day, found an old office space they […]
illness
Is There Comfort in Depression?
The question continues to puzzle me: How did I get over depression? That deep change began about 18 months ago, and it’s been a year since I knew for sure that something fundamental had shifted. The nemesis wasn’t after me anymore. In fact, I couldn’t find that thing anywhere near me. After so many temporary […]
Talking to Depression – 1
Some Rights Reserved by Daquella_manera at Flickr Talking to the depression of a spouse or partner is usually a no-win trap. I speak from the experience of having angrily fought off so many attempts my wife made over the years simply to let me know that something was deeply wrong. Depression is the intruder in […]
Recovery, Well-Being and Purpose
It occurs to me that recovery is past, well-being is now and purpose is the future. Let me explain. Recently, I wrote about recovery as a concept I no longer wanted to apply to what I’ve been going through. The word carried a set of assumptions that kept me within an illness frame of mind. […]
Depression and Imagination
I’ve been looking back at the way I’ve thought about depression and my stance toward dealing with it, and I’ve started to wonder: Could I imagine and adopt in my life a different approach to this illness? What starts me on this track is my encounter with the experiences of so many other thoughtful fellow-sufferers […]
Fighting Back – 1: Changing Belief about Depression
Depression is a strange thing. No one seems able to explain exactly what it is, yet there is no doubting the reality of its pain. I’ve had it with me since boyhood, though at that time, I was years away from even hearing the term, let alone getting treatment. I grew up with it, not […]
What Depression Can Do – 2: Shame and Despair
Can’t (Rights Reserved) What's it like, the mixing of shame and despair? I am full of the sense that I have no future, there is no point to living. This is no emptiness or lack of feeling, lack of affect, as they say. It is the intense feeling of hitting bottom, overwhelmed with shame, worthlessness, […]
