I have suffered from depression for most of my life.  From self-medicating with alcohol for much of my adulthood, through a variety of ‘proper’ medication, counselling, group work, hard work by myself and the people who love me, I’ve learned a lot about how I work, and what depression really is.  I believe that an ‘illness’ that affects around 50% of people needs to be considered very differently from things like OCD or ADHD or schizophrenia that affect a small fraction of a percentage.  This series of articles looks at a variety of studies and articles which view depression in a new way, as a negative side effect of a useful type of thinking, and as an indicator of problems with life.  A new view of depression requires a new look at treatment, where medication is not the be all and end all, but just a possible part of a solution which treats the underlying issues.

• Part 1: Thought vs Chemistry
• Part 2: What do these pills do?
• Part 3: What’s So Bad About Feeling Bad?
• Part 4: Learning to Live

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