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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

My Top Books for Understanding Depression and Recovery – 1

by John Folk-Williams 1 Comment

Strand Book Store Sidewalk Scene

Every list of top books on depression is highly personal, and mine may be more so than most. I’ve left out several of the standards you’ll find in other lists and added others that cover far more than this one condition because they’ve helped me make progress in recovery. They’ve deepened my understanding of healing […]

Filed Under: Healing, Resource Tagged With: identity, meaning

The Alchemy of Turning Depression into Vitality

by John Folk-Williams 10 Comments

First Wind of Spring

After reading about the experiences of Tom Wootton and Will, the author of the great blog, WillSpirit, I’ve been exploring whether I could find a way, as they have, of turning depression into vitality or even bliss, something positive and fulfilling. It’s been a stretch. I’ve usually thought of depression as a force that turns […]

Filed Under: Mindfulness Tagged With: awareness, energy, equanimity, meaning, motivation, peace

13 Ways of Defining Depression

by John Folk-Williams 24 Comments

colorful door architecture

With all the conflict about defining depression, it’s not surprising if you’re confused about what it is, where it comes from and how best to treat it. There may not be much disagreement or confusion about what it does to you. But there is a difference of opinion about whether those impacts are a good […]

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: acceptance, behavior, meaning, treatment

Changing Belief, Discovering Purpose in a Work Life

by John Folk-Williams 11 Comments

There is a lot to explore in the idea of changing the mindset of recovery to that of finding purpose for the future. Just as I could undo the belief in my perpetual illness, I could also undo the belief that there had been little meaning or value in what I had done in the […]

Filed Under: Depression at Work, Depression Causes, Purpose, Writing Tagged With: belief, depression, life, meaning, mindset

Recovery, Well-Being and Purpose

by John Folk-Williams 21 Comments

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. […]

Filed Under: Creativity, Purpose, Reconnecting, Recovery Tagged With: hope, illness, life, meaning, men, mind, treatment, will

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Surviving Depression Together Now Available at Major Retailers

Surviving Depression Together


Surviving Depression Together

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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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