Depression – Rational Enquiry vs Emotional Wallowing

Depression can only be defeated by science and rational enquiry not airy faerie emotional wallowing such as is to be found in most useless self help books.

Amazon is replete with absurd self help manuals promising 10 step programs to beat depression without drugs, “paths to wholeness”, feeling your chakras or mandalas (whatever they may be?) and ten thousand other routes to hopelessness.

You don’t want “warm and supportive little books” or flights of fantasy about “flower mandalas”.

What you do need is medically prescribed  antidepressant drugs and advice from a qualified clinical psychologist.

If you do want a self help book or two then you are best off picking something practical and down to earth. Eschew pixies and faerie dust.  And above all avoid reading the horrible books written by depressives describing their awful psychoses.  Why read about Samuel Johnson and make yourself worse?

The first helpful book I ever read on the subject was by Dorothey Rowe and I still think it is one of the best:

The theme is that depression is a prison of your own making and to an extent I have found that to be true. But it still does NOT mean that words alone will rescue you from the pit of despair. Nor will meditation, awareness, religion or anything else on its own act to prevent a slithery descent down the black slope to hell.

The problem is the stunning ignorance and prejudice which prevents the depressive from seeking chemical help. Coupled with the sadly only experimental state of such cures. But while SSRI’s may be imperfect they have improved the lives of countless thousands and medicine and science are the only way out of the hole.

Eventually science will ensure that all will be well.