h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Do you have a certain number of sessions scheduled or does the therapy last however long it takes?

Five sessions 'to begin with' was what my suggested to my employer

Hi, I suffer from depression sometimes too (I'm bipolar). The antidepressants I take help a lot though, and I have been lucky to have good therapists.

I hope you don't mind my chiming in. Good luck in your recovery.

<< she was very good at pushing my buttons, she was... seemingly innocent comments just hit me sooooo bad... <<

It's uncanny how they do just that... How they seem to sense what you need to think about, even when you thought it was nothing, or try not to.

My internal music is back!

It's been so very quiet in my head without it... Right now it's Madonna's 'Hungup' (the one where she samples ABBA) that's spinning around

uh-oh, sounds like somebody created (or re-created) a

seriously though, congrats on your positive experience

the tunnel may be long and dark but at some point there will be light at the end of it

Well, as you all describe it, you are making your fiist steps in reconquering selfconfidence.

Of course it will have its setbacks, but the periods of getting along with yourself may get longer and that's the only thing that counts;
comparing yourself with yourself, back in time.

Furthermore it can take time and effort to find the right therapy and therapist, within (practical/financial) needs.

What you're in now, is a part of a chain that started years ago and many parts will follow. It's now more official/publicly, but your 'start" is already back in time.

Keep going, Titania.

I can't remember if I've attempted to translate these Swedish lyrics into English before, but hey ho, here we go, extremely freely translated, indeed:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Beneath the surface
we're all small
beneath the surface
those who feel should know

That when all is at its darkest
and the wind is blowing cold
when the sorrow is at its deepest
you just want to forget it all

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Blues / Uno Svenningsson

And what triggered this memory? The fact that I had my third session today, and I still spend most of it crying my eyes out... *sighs*

Can you tell yet how much good the sessions are doing? I suppose if you find it difficult to cry, then just doing that would provide some release.

"when the sorrow is at its deepest
you just want to forget it all"

Boy, that's the truth. We internalize things and pretend nothing is wrong until one day we crash.

Well, it is true that I *have* been bottling things up rather than dealing with them, so I think that is something that needs doing - and I think it's exactly what these sessions are about...

I'm glad you use the sessions for it, then. When it's heavy, it's best done with support and supervision.

Keep going as you do now, Titania !

Ho hum - this weekend, I finally told my mother about my depression.

And her initial reaction was one of disbelief.

'Depressed?! What reason have *you* got to be depressed?'

Reason?

I handed her the booklet (aimed at patients *and* family/relatives about depression) that my had given me, with strict orders to read it.

Bah.

This seems to be a fairly common misconception. A friend of mine once told me she "didn't have time to be depressed" - as if it was something one decided to pursue as a leisure pastime

I hope the booklet sheds some illumination on matters

Such "coming out" is never easy, also not for those around you.
Some may even feel blamed by it; "Why would YOU be depressed"(may be translated as "Do you say I have not been a good mother for you?)

Everyone has to shift places a little, because they belong to your life, as yours belong to theirs.
So, change of positions and behaviour is a must.

Having said this; at this moment you seem to work out the lable "depression", but soon you'll learn to make it more practical and as a part of your inner life.

You just don't have a depression; you're putting time, energy and money to find out where these depressive feelings come from and in what circumstances you get more depressed and in others you feel uplifted.

You are just figuring out in June 2007 why you have depressive feelings, more than usual.
Others may feel confronted with such "news" with their lack of initiative about their own depression and can react different as you aspected.

You're on the right track, Titania.
Keep going!

Reason! Pah! It happens, deal with it!

Titania! You did right!