I have written about depression being a disorder of mood, one that you might not realise was affecting you.
Today Dora told me a story about her friend Polina who had been depressed for a long time without recognising she was ill. Polina was getting by with sheer force of will and then something took her further down. I don’t know what happened…
It was Dora who noticed the change and felt that treatment was important, she encouraged Polina to see a psychiatrist. In her despondency Polina knew what she needed to do but she could not manage it herself. With Polina’s permission, Dora made an appointment, and then gently supported Polina to keep the appointment, driving her there. Sometimes people who can not stand on their own can lean on another.
Polina has been taking medication for depression for a week. Polina says that she is not feeling so miserable now, in fact she “…has not felt so not-miserable since childhood.” That is what Dora told me.
There are different types of depression with slightly different symptoms that may require different treatment. There is division about whether depression is curable. Some say depression is curable because it can be lifted, and some say depression is not curable as it can return. Curable or not depression is treatable.
I am the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be a cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell; I awfully forbode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die or be better. Abraham Lincoln
The story Dora told me affirms that depression is treatable, it is possible to be better.