Dear IRNS and other friends,

Here's another veteran of the depression war, and I am here to report that Prozac proved very effective when taken in combination with cognitive behaviour therapy, a demanding church choir, and two to three housecats.

None of the elements of my recovery program worked particularly well without the others. The pills and the therapy sessions did what they were supposed to do, and the needs of the cats and the church choir added structure to my life that allowed the drugs and the therapy to work. At the same time, they frequently rewarded me with intense pleasure that was innocent, constructive and non-fattening.

The therapist and the physician were both humble enough to acknowledge that they had only partial solutions to offer, and invested significant effort in guiding me to identify the things already present in my life that would work with their treatments to get me on the road to recovery. Then they stuck with me to see it through.

Your mileage may vary.