I met with a new doctor yesterday. I’ve been interviewing them like babysitters lately. “Do you believe there is such a thing as a mood disorder?” I asked him. “Yes,” he replied. “At least in language there is.” “When and why did you decide to break from conventional medicine and practice a more holistic approach?...

Nine years ago I decided to wean off all my meds and take natural supplements instead. One evening I was fixing a magnesium concoction, chatting with a friend. We were talking about my depression, and this new holistic route I was taking. “You have everything you need inside you to get better,” she said. Yeah,...

Five years ago, a talented artist, Anya Getter, painted a beautiful piece for me (shown here) and sent it to me as a gift. You have to look closely to see the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” It sits on my bed stand so it’s the first thing...

Notice the word “like.” I’m not going to be so bold as to introduce eight steps that will have you love yourself. Baby steps, right? For some, self-love is a no-brainer. They grew up in homes where LOVE was the predominant four-letter word. Some possess too much, and like Vanity Smurf, are most comfortable with...

“Do you WANT to get better?” a family member asked me a few weeks after I graduated from the psych ward in 2005. I was furious and hurt. Because it was just one of many insensitive comments that seem to imply that I was causing my illness. So when a woman in the online depression...