I have mentioned in previous posts my struggle with depression. I have also mentioned how the Western method of treatment (take a pill, see a shrink) had completely failed me. After this latest bout of depression which lasted a full 9 years and defied all the effort of Western medicine (change pills, up the dose, add another pill, see a different and more expensive shrink) I had had enough. I have taken a different route and this works! Astonishingly fast too I might add. I know I can’t be the only one that has gone through this. I cannot be the only one who has been told they have “Treatment Resistant Depression” or the term would have never been coined. Further, if pills worked for everyone then why is there anyone with depression at all? The fact is, pills do not work for everyone. Neither does seeing expensive shrinks.

I decided to write about my experience. The failure of the Western medical approach and the incredible speed and effectiveness of an “alternative” approach. I really hate the term “alternative” as it can invoke feelings of doubt in some people, as if it were some inept and crazy thing. It’s not. It’s far older and thus more mature than our system. In fact, it works so well that now pharmaceutical companies are producing and selling “pharmaceutical grade” compounds and pills of the exact same things this “alternative” method uses! So they know it works and you can be sure that the “pharmaceutical” version of these things are far and away more expensive than what works without being labeled pharmaceutical.

The approach is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Naturopathy. I don’t see it as simply an “alternative” approach, I see it as different. And in my case, effective whereas the accepted and standard treatment was a complete failure.

Anyway, the amazing success this different approach has had in helping me get my life back and freeing me from the darkness of depression has prompted me to write a short book about it. I wrote the book with depressed people in mind because when I was in the grip of depression I tried to read several books that were supposed to help me only to find I couldn’t get through them. They were too long and I had to read through too much useless “filler” to get to any useful information. So I made this book short and to the point. It gets right to the things that worked for me and covers some of the problems one can encounter with prolonged severe depression, including the financial impact. The book is available at Amazon. I’m selling it for ninety nine cents so it’s not as if I’m trying to get rich from it. I truly do want people to benefit from it. I could just give it away, and I thought of that, but I figured that ninety nine cents was a reasonable price and it will help me and my son keep this blog going.