It's so interesting to read all of these posts, I identify with quite a few. I am also an example of a type of depression success story. I thought I was a single-episode case, until recently. I had a major depressive episode that started in my late teens and lasted four years and then had almost 10 years without any real symptoms. My latest episode started about a year ago and I started feeling better about six weeks ago. I have been in intensive therapy and on the right medication for about 3 months now. Last time (10 years ago) I was on medication for a year (Prozac) and in therapy for about a year and a half. I was also in much worse shape than I was this time. The thing about the 2nd episode was that I wasn't afraid to ask for help. I recognized the symptoms and went to the doctor to ask for help. Because I was "cured" the first time, I also knew that I could get better this time so when the first round of medication didn't help, I asked for new meds and when I didn't like the first therapists I saw, I kept searching until I found the one that I'm seeing now (I love him, he's fantastic and we click so well. He doesn't let me get away with anything.)

When I talked to my pdoc about why I became depressed now, he said that in people like me with a chemical imbalance, we are more prone to issues with depression than the average person. The challenges and issues we go through over the years deplete our seratonin (I experienced physical assualt, the death of one of my best friends, a serious car accident among other things) until finally we come up against one last challenge that puts us over the edge, so to speak and triggers the depressive episode. That's why we have mutiple episodes throughout our lives. For me, my final trigger had to do with work.

Don't know if this helps, but the explanation really made sense to me.

Feddy