[Squalo]

Great post DAZZLR. Also Malazn Mafia's post touched a nerve. Having gone three solid rounds with the black dog in the last ten years I am fairly well tuned into where I'm at most of the time, and lately too much of what Malazn outlined is creeping in... even after the most awesome day out at the beach with my kids I still find myself wondering whether it's worth bothering too much when it comes to planning or generally making an effort. Fatigue is also an issue for me lately. All classic signals, but I don't want to go back to ADs because while they help they also take the edge off all the good/great emotions too. So what to do - well, cut back on alcohol intake and bump up the physical exercise for starters, so that's what I'm doing... trying to do. And connecting with people more - I live a pretty lonely existence Mon-Fri, which certainly doesn't help.

My two cents on the earlier discourse - helping someone who has clinical depression may be an eye-opener to someone with a closed mind, but it still comes nowhere near close to giving them a real understanding of clinical depression.

Unless you have been there yourself you are highly unlikely to be able to join the dots. A strong sense of empathy isn't enough unless you can also appreciate what a depressed person is actually going through. But even when I lived with my ex she really didn't seem to 'see' how totally wrecked I was when I was at my lowest.