[trvd1707]

I liked the post because it shows the other side of a couple living with depression. I suffer from chronic depression and it is not easy to depend on medication every day with no prospect of "cure". The hardest part is dealing with the stigma associated with it, with people insisting that you are not doing the right thing and finding a way to get over it and free your self from medication.

I know that the "chemical imbalance" explanation is a poor excuse for "we don't know exactly how it works". But there are so many progresses done in our quality of living that were done because someone had a hunch and some practical, reproducible results showing that it worked. Think about the practice of washing hands when going from one patient to another in a hospital? When it was suggested, people couldn't see a connection with dirty hands and spreading diseases.

I lost a son that suffered from a mood disorder to suicide. It is heartbreaking and it happened when he was apparently getting over the hump of his darkest moments... I have other two children that also struggled with depression and what I found that worked the best for us so far is communication. Being opened about our struggles, talk therapy in conjunction with medication.

[jon-wood]

This may be utterly inappropriate, but I just want to convey my sympathy for the loss of your son, I honestly can't imagine anything worse. You have my utmost respect for managing to carry on, and supporting your family through it.