Is it possible to learn to live well using an acceptance approach to depression rather than the strategy of trying to suppress or avoid it? That’s the question I’ve been exploring. Most of the treatments for depression I’ve used have been based on avoidance. Reduce stress, overcome depression, control anxiety, conquer anger. Get rid of […]
treatment
Ending Antidepressant Treatment
After about 18 years of non-stop, mostly ineffective antidepressant treatment, I’ve brought this long experiment to an end. I had been wearing Emsam patches for the past six years, but I’ve been fairly sure for some time that they had stopped working. It seems I was right. Getting off the drug has made no difference […]
13 Ways of Defining Depression
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 […]
Healing and the New Medicine
Just as recent psychotherapies emphasize the healing power of the mind, a new approach to the practice of medicine draws on the inner resilience of each person to participate in recovery. The excellent documentary, The New Medicine, describes this emerging practice as rooted in a rejection of the artificial split between mind and body. As […]
The Placebo Effect Helps the Mind Heal Depression
How is it that the mind can heal depression through the placebo effect? Placebo is a meaningless treatment that is presented as the real thing, but it can be almost as effective as antidepressants that have been on the market for years. I can’t know for sure, but I suspect that my brief recovery after […]
Tom Wootton and the Depression Advantage
Tom Wootton says that a few years ago he would have screamed if anyone had said there was an advantage to depression. So, to get a bit in your face, he named his book, The Depression Advantage. And that book came after The Bipolar Advantage. I didn’t scream when I saw those titles. As I […]
