Well, for one, therapy helps with a lot of the issues from my childhood. The way I grew up, with divorced, drug and alcohol addicted parents and an abusive stepfather has an effect on me. There was physical and sometimes emotional abuse, but the most prevalent issue was neglect.

I swore very early on that I would not repeat my parents' mistakes and I haven't. I also think back at the many times I had to be the "adult" as a child. I feel awkward talking about myself in positive terms like this, but I've had a certain drive and inner strength that I've drawn on to get through that. Even now, I still do.

For me, I think that while I'd be a lot better off without the screwed up childhood, it's just in my nature to have issues with anxiety and depression. Simply accepting that has had a huge positive effect on me living my life and being able to pursue the things I value and enjoy. It's not easy and during the couple of severe bouts of depression I've had I've not been able to do it. With that said, I think that sort of acceptance that I've come to over the past couple of years is what has allowed me to avoid a re-occurrence of what my depression has been at times.