Duckboots. Without going into the gory details, I have suffered severe depression for most of my life. Six years ago, after a family crisis, I went on anti-depressants. The change had beendramatic. I am a nicer person to be around and I like myself a lot better.

Like you, I self-medicated with booze for years. Booze is not the answer. If you have been diagnosed with depression, get help. There are alot of different therapies out there and not all of them rely on drugs. The stigma of mental illness is slowly fading and as more and more of us come out the walls are coming down.

Depression is a disease. It can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Find out! It is not a moral weakness. It is a disease and it is treatable.

As you can tell, this is a topic that I view with some passion. If There had not been the stigma, I might have sought help sooner and some of the bad things in my life would not have happened. I do not hide my condition. I am rather an advocate for openness about mental illness.

If you need someone to talk to, e-mail me.I'll listen.

troll