This is why I need to be in touch with people currently battling the demons of depression: they remind me of where I was, so that in the event I find myself in that massive pile of animal waste again, I’ll remember how to climb out and get rid of the smell. One rule comes…

I just shared my belief that depression is conquerable. But how? Here are some treatment facts, according to “The Johns Hopkins White Papers 2007: Depression and Anxiety” by Karen L. Swartz, one of the physicians who evaluated me in Spring 2006. (I must assign a lot of power to her because I dreamed last night…

Also from “The Johns Hopkins White Papers 2007“: “If you’re on an antidepressant and it’s not working, don’t give up on it: You may need a higher dose, a longer duration of therapy, a different drug altogether, or a combination of medications. That’s the important lesson to learn from a large, six-year, four-step government study…

Click here to read a fascinating interview on “Medscape Today” with Helen S. Mayberg, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, about her groundbreaking research into the neurophysiologic loci of depression and the benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBI) for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Three word conclusion: There is hope.

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