Who Would Not Want An Illness That

Others Imply That They Know What It Is Like To Be Depressed Because They Have Gone Through A Divorce, Lost A Job, Or Broken Up With Someone. But These Experiences Carry With Them Feelings. Depression, Instead, Is Flat, Hollow, And Unendurable. ... You're Frightened, And You're Frightening, And You're 'not At All Like Yourself But Will Be Soon,' But You Know You Won't.

Mood Disorders Are Terribly Painful Illnesses, And They Are Isolating Illnesses. And They Make People Feel Terrible About Themselves When, In Fact, They Can Be Treated.

The Complexities Of What We Are Given In Life Are Vast And Beyond Comprehension.

We All Build Internal Sea Walls To Keep At Bay The Sadnesses Of Life And The Often Overwhelming Forces Within Our Minds. In Whatever Way We Do This—through Love, Work, Family, Faith, Friends, Denial, Alcohol, Drugs, Or Medication—we Build These Walls, Stone By Stone, Over A Lifetime. One Of The Most Difficult Problems Is To Construct These Barriers Of Such A Height And Strength That One Has A True Harbor, A Sanctuary Away From Crippling Turmoil And Pain, But Yet Low Enough, And Permeable Enough, To Let In Fresh Seawater That Will Fend Off The Inevitable Inclination Toward Brackishness.

I Compare Myself With My Former Self, Not With Others. Not Only That, I Tend To Compare My Current Self With The Best I Have Been, Which Is When I Have Been Midly Manic. When I Am My Present "normal" Self, I Am Far Removed From When I Have Been My Liveliest, Most Productive, Most Intense, Most Outgoing And Effervescent. In Sort, For Myself, I Am A Hard Act To Follow.