Hi Richard,

I Googled your personal story and then had a look at the rest of your website. Thank you for sharing your journey; your honesty, self-awareness, courage and growth are inspiring. Best wishes for the future -- I hope you will continue to update your site and let us know how you are faring.

Dear Richard,

thank you for coming forward with your experiences. I had similar ones from sexual childhood abuse to kidnapping and torture. It took me a very long time to understand that I was depressed but I took up help two years ago and making very slow progress.

Thank you again and I will keep on looking in.

Mon

Dear Richard, I was so grateful to find the account of your lifelong battle with depression. Just to know that I am not the only one actually made me feel better straight away. It also gives me the confidence to continue trying - to go for a daily walk when I can, and also not to beat myself up so much. My previous doctor was useless - she merely told me that my problem is that `I think too much`. I assured her that if she could find the ON/OFF switch I would use it with alacrity. It is reassuring to read that you are now more at ease with yourself, I find it extremely alarming that older sufferers of depressive illness are highly likely to suffer from major illnesses, such as cancer and cardio vascular disease. All the best.

Hi Old Guy,

I think it might be time for me to deal with chronic, lifelong depression chemically.

I appreciated reading your story and was wondering how you were
doing. Have you found that medication was the answer. Just wondering about the long term.

[replied to via email]

I've been battling depression for years, with multiple antidepressants, counseling, and prayer. Last year, thyroid hormones were added, and that helped a lot (for a while.)

No childhood traumas, no drinking, just screwed-up brain chemicals. Doctors say that depression, insomnia and migraines indicate a particular "neurological problem", but they really don't know what the problem (or solution) is.

I wish that I could "graduate" from the need for meds, as you apparently have. However, I'm concerned that your story doesn't seem up to date. Have you had any serious relapses, or is life just taking up too much of your time to waste time looking at a computer?

[replied to via email]