Take a bow! I mean it. You have just done one of the hardest things anyone can do. You've admitted that your mood is out of your control and have asked for help in regaining that control. It was humiliating and degrading, but you went and did it. This is a feat like no other and a real accomplishment. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it!

   Now, if you are like most people (including myself), your first step was talking to your family doctor, and very likely he prescribed one of the newer anti-depressants (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin). If this is true, please take this to heart: the chances are not very good that the medication, alone, will cure you. It very well might, but the odds are it isn't enough. You are probably going to need some kind of therapy as well. I advise you to ask your doctor for a referral to a counselor of some kind (a psychologist, social worker, or psychiatrist who does counseling). It's best to begin this now, early on in your treatment, as you are going to go through some changes, as the medication begins to work.

   You may think you don't need therapy and your doctor may even have said so, too--but take it from me, I've been there, and I've seen lots of others who've been there, too. All too often, medication alone is not enough. Your doctor may be a nice person and all, but most general practitioners don't have a lot of psychiatric experience. So don't believe him or her if she gave you the idea that therapy is unnecessary. He or she is not an expert enough to know! Every case of depression is unique. Find a counselor and at least have an evaluation to see if therapy will help.

   Having said that, I'll move on to a couple more important points. One is patience. You are going to have to be patient. Unfortunately, you will not get better overnight. It doesn't work that way. Chances are it has taken weeks, months, or even years for you to reach this point. Reaching this critical stage cannot be suddenly reversed. You will find your recovery is sort of like an onion--you slowly peel away layers until you finally reach the core of it. And this "peeling" takes time. Please give your treatment a chance to work. You have nothing to lose by trying. And you have everything to gain!

   Another concept is acceptance. It's really difficult to wake up everyday knowing that you have to face the handicap of a mental illness. It's embarrassing for your emotions to be so out of control as to require medication or therapy. I know this, believe me. But depression is an illness, nothing more and nothing less. You have to accept you are ill, before your treatment can really begin.

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