Monthly Archives: August 2014

Essay. Where Does the Power Come from?

During telecasts of the London Olympics in 2012, the musical theme to Chariots of Fire, a film about British runners preparing for the post-World War I (1924) games, was played often. I have seen the film many times since it … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression 1 of 9

I am posting this series again as a response to the death of a much loved, well-known man, Robin Williams. He killed himself. While the spotlight is on depression, I want to add another person’s experience living with severe depression, … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 2 of 9

Yesterday was rainy, damp, and cool with a gray sky and no sign the sun existed. Even if I were not depressed, I would have wanted to stay in bed. Depression is inertia. There is no energy to get up, … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 3 of 9

My mood fluctuates with what is left of my menstrual cycles. Changeable mood, including a persistent depression, is common among women entering or passing through menopause. That is no consolation, although it was a comfort one day last week when … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 4 of 9

Several years before Joseph was born, I was admitted to a hospital for several days of EEG (brain wave) monitoring to see what types of seizures I had, how often they came, and thus, what change in medication or other … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 5 of 9

I started writing this post six weeks ago, in late October. Usually I write fluidly when ideas are ready to come together. Six weeks ago, I knew what ideas and personal experience I wanted to capture, but I was not … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 6 of 9

When I was on the psychiatry rotation in medical school, I worked on a suicide prevention telephone line and spent other days answering behavioral/drug-related/psychiatric emergency calls with an ambulance crew. It was a hard experience riding the ambulance in an … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 7 of 9

Two weeks ago everything fell apart and I ended up in the psychiatric emergency room. Some days I feel I’m looking at a film of life rather than being immersed in it, physically alive. In contrast, when Joseph was home … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 8 of 9

My problems became apparent to me late last summer, but I muddled along until just after the new year began. I lost the ability to muddle rather dramatically one morning and ended up in the acute psychiatric service. The fallout … Continue reading

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Personal Health Log. Riding out the Storm. Living with Depression. 9 of 9

Healing from illness, injury, or psychological trauma is rarely linear. We do not get better and better. We have days where we feel we can beat our problems, even if only a bit at a time. Other days we feel … Continue reading

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