Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash This new development is not exactly what I had envisioned when I got up this morning. Well, I guess this is not what my Peer Advocate had envisioned. She had expected my psychiatrist to switch me to Abilify, or one of the two other similar medications. So instead of taking 30 mg of Remeron, I would replace that with a dose of … [Read more...] about Side Effects Be Damned, Now I’m Taking 30 mg of Remeron
WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan)
Straight Talk About My Journey with Depression
Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR on Unsplash In case you are new to my blog, my name is Joel and I live in Charlottesville Virginia. I am a middle-class male, and I have worked since I was 10 years old. My career spans over 50 years in retail management and along with my wife, I have raised 3 remarkable children. Recently, I finally said out loud that I have lived with … [Read more...] about Straight Talk About My Journey with Depression
My Depression and I Are About to Celebrate Our 4th Anniversary
Photo by Joy Memon on Unsplash Depression and I go back almost 60 years, but I have only said “I have depression” for the past four. Before that, I was all about getting the episode over so I could get back to my “regular life.” It never occurred to me that living with depression was my regular life. I was so focused on never having depression that I refused to see my … [Read more...] about My Depression and I Are About to Celebrate Our 4th Anniversary
Why Must My Depression Decide What I Really Want or Need?
Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash If I think I want or need something, shouldn’t that be enough? Yet here I am negotiating with myself over what I want. Even after a lifetime of making my own choices, I am stuck between my ideas and depression. Now it is possible that my depression has allowed me a few “wins.” You know, just enough to keep me in the game. My … [Read more...] about Why Must My Depression Decide What I Really Want or Need?
What’s Stopping Me from Telling the World I Have Depression?
In my mind, I should have said “I have depression” years ago. And while I have done so in this blog, I have shied away from a formal announcement. One would think that after 530 blog posts, my secret would be out. But the fact that it hasn’t has more to do with “it’s not always about you,” than about my relationship with depression. There are many groups to which I have … [Read more...] about What’s Stopping Me from Telling the World I Have Depression?