Therese Borchard's prelude to what follows:

Four years ago, I almost gave up.

After trying 23 medication combinations, seven psychiatrists, two hospitalization programs, and every form of alternative therapy available--from homeopathic remedies to yoga--I assumed I was one of those unfortunate statistics with treatment-resistant depression, a Humpty Dumpty type who would never recover from the fall of a nervous breakdown.

There was no magic that happened between then and now, the day my book about my recovery hits the shelves. I just kept on getting out of bed. Even on the days where my thoughts were cemented in the black stuff, in negativity and toxic emotions, I tried to pick up one foot and place it in front on the next.

Here are the tools I picked up along the way, the 12 basic lessons that help me in my mission to stay "Beyond Blue," or at least out of black for as long as possible.http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/Emot...epression.aspx

Click here to see the slides: tools

A gutsy lady who would not quit.