</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
SecretGarden said:
I am not sure how much of my depression is genetic /chemical and how much is situational.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
SG, I wouldn't make too much about this distinction. As I like to say to my therapist, "everything is biochemical." When our situational, life events send us into depression, they do so, in part, by altering the levels of the neurotransmitters in our brains. So even though this depression has its root in unfortunate life events, it is definitely biochemical. That's why anti-depressants can help depression that is triggered by life events. Similarly, there are things we can do in our lives to help balance our brain chemicals. That's why CBT can help depression. It promotes lots of little life changes that each positively affect our biochemistry. (Please note: I am not trying to say that everyone can deal with depression through CBT or without meds.)

One of the most important factors to me in combatting my depression was regaining hope. That is very abstract and ill-defined, but it helped me so much (way more than CBT stuff).

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
like a wound is perpetually open

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
SG, I don't think therapy has to be like this.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
my pdoc says that I have not affected my core in 15 years

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
What does that even mean? Can you give an example? What would a SecretGarden look like whose core had been effected? How would you be different from how you are now if your core was affected? I find your T's statement really vague. Do you find it helpful when he says stuff like that?

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I am middle aged now... with alot I have not accomplished in life.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
SG, are you putting your life on hold while you wait for therapy to end?

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I have had a psychologist PhD friend who never went to therapy and that basically floors me.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
Me too! I don't know if my T has ever been in therapy himself before. I can't remember if he's said that. But he did tell me once that he did depth family therapy with himself and his mother, with him acting as both a client and his own therapist. And she had her own therapist present. So it was a threeway session. That boggles my mind.