Gwynne Curry writes about a number of experiences that can encourage depression:

I’m a lot like you… I was depressed for a LONG time and I didn’t like it.

As a matter of fact I’ve personally experienced 30+ years of chronic depression with at least two episodes of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

Here are some of the things I’ve encountered during my life’s journey:

* sexual abuse…
* abandonment issues…
* becoming a mother at age 17…
* 2 bankruptcies (one personal and one corporate)…
* loss of home that was a primary residence…
* diagnosed with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis at age 34…
* 2 divorces…
* abusive spouse who was an alcoholic…

Things got so bad, I almost couldn’t get out of bed, didn’t want to see anyone and wanted to pull the covers over my head and hide from the world.

Fast-forward to today and I now live a life FREE of depression, and have been depression free for more than 5 years, because… I had a burning desire to feel better.

My perseverance led me to the answers I had been searching for.  What I discovered helped me to put all the pieces of the puzzle together into a coherent structure.

In the beginning I learned techniques which I applied in my daily life that brought a feeling of relief, but would last only a short time.  Then I would feel discouraged and get depressed again.

But, I refused to give up.  I continued to try new and different techniques… I studied NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), took the Silva Method of Mind Development course, studied with Native American Indians, and even became a certified hypnotherapist.

These studies did not give me all the answers, but I learned something and gained benefits from each one.

From her article: Finding a method that works to relieve depression.

> Order her book You Can Heal Your Depression Now.

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Therese J. Borchard is the author of the blog “Beyond Blue” on Beliefnet.com, which is featured regularly on The Huffington Post and was voted by PsychCentral.com as one of the top 10 depression blogs.

The first of these two videos is from her post Snow Blizzard 2010 and MENTAL HEALTH.

She notes, “Here’s the video I made that talks about ‘Getting Through the Rough Spots.’ I hope it’s helpful for you … whatever your obstacle du jour is.”

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In a Shrink Rap Radio interview, Jed Diamond, Ph.D. talks about his book The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression. Here is an excerpt from the transcript:

We used to think that male menopause was metaphorical… a midlife crisis like what women go through. But these hormonally based changes that affect our psychological state, our emotional state, our sexuality really is similar enough to what I think women go through that the term has caught on, and it really has been recognized now throughout the world.

I define Irritable Male Syndrome as a state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration, and anger that occurs in males and is associated with biochemical changes, hormonal fluctuations, stress, and loss of male identity. … We found that depression and irritability are related.

Continued in article Irritable Male Syndrome interview .

“I was feeling so sad all the time, and I couldn’t shake it. I started burying my feelings, and it got to a point where I couldn’t even tell my family or my friends, ‘I’m twisted,’ or ‘I’m exhausted,’ or ‘I’m so angry.’”

Alicia Keys [right] added, “I became a master of putting up the wall so that I was unreadable.” [People, December 13, 2007]

One of the reasons we need to manage depression as creative people, is so we don’t get too walled off or shut down to create.

For some people, it may be a more severe form, such as the Postpartum Depression that Marie Osmond experienced.

As she described it: “I’m collapsed in a pile of shoes on my closet floor… I have no memory of what it feels like to be happy. I sit with my knees pulled up to my chest. I barely move. It’s not that I want to be still. I am numb.”

But probably for most of us, it is a less extreme form, such as dysthymia, and is likely to be an existential depression, as psychologist and creativity coach Eric Maisel, PhD describes in his book The Van Gogh Blues .

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From Oprah and Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth Online Class:

Sharon (audience member): I have close relationships to people who suffer from depression. And in talking with them, I find that there’s an inwardness and a strong identity that they have as people who suffer from depression.

Eckhart Tolle: Whether it is a physical condition that one suffers from or a psychological condition, there is the tendency to identify oneself with it.

Oprah: [People think,] “And I’m depressed because I’m identifying with my whole story.”

Eckhart Tolle: Yes. If you’re very strongly identified with my sad story, which for many people, yes, the story is sad. I had a sad story for many years until I let go of it… I was depressed.. until one night, I woke up, and I realized that this unhappy self is not who I am.

Continued in article Eckhart Tolle On Depression.

Heather Locklear is seeking treatment for anxiety and depression. “She requested an in-depth evaluation of her medication and entered into a medical facility for proper diagnosis and treatment,” her publicist said. [The Associated Press 06/26/2008]

Musician Shawn Colvin explained on an episode of the Oprah show (Depressed, Mentally Ill and Famous), “Part of the way I’ve dealt with my depressions in the past is I’ve had the ability, if necessary, to just check out. There have been times when I’ve not shown up at work.”

In a press release, Colvin said, “Since seeking help and getting appropriate treatment for my depression, I have felt more engaged with and closer to family and friends, and have been able to fully capture my creativity.”

One of the ways we need to support ourselves is to deal with mental health challenges like depression that can distort our inner life and impede access to our creative thinking and energy.

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