RD,
You recognize that you are slipping back into depression. That is positive. Now, do what you know you have to do to reverse it or at least control it. If you have been on medications, you know that depression is the result of a chemical inbalance in the brain. Get a physical, see your therapist, and follow all of the above advice. Keep talking to people who are sympathetic. The urge to hide (at least for me) is dangerous. Email me at SINSULL@AOL.COM, if you need to talk. I am back from potential suicide to a recognition that life and mine, in particular, is too precious to waste.