I don't think that you've ever been one of the victims of my attacks, and I don't intend for you to be, but... I feel the need to throw out a red flag when I see overly simplistic answers for problems that are likely far, far more complex than: Buddhism. CBT. Etc.

I know that CBT as a cure for everything really rankles me because it's been sold to me in a lot of different flavours for 30 years and I've put so much more than a little work into it – I've put years of work into it – but I've never been able to get to the CBT happy place. Time and again I've blamed myself for being unable to become a True Believer. I've tortured myself, thinking that I must be the most abnormal of the abnormal in my inability to be cured in 16 hours of therapy + homework.

I'm sure that you're aware that Beck's audience was originally depressives but even it's efficacy for depression has been in decline for over 40 years and I don't recall who said it but someone who was an ex-CBT practitioner said that, for MDD, CBT confuses the symptoms of the problem with the causes.

While CBT may have been a cure-all for you, and for others, it wasn't for me or for others. I guess that it's fine to give advice here but could I ask that you, and others, consider couching your advice in a more personal, rather than declarative style? Something such as "CBT worked for me," with an example of how it helped you?

I think that type of approach may be more beneficial to those who come here seeking advice; to realise that there are options in mental health treatment.

I hope that you won't take this observation and suggestion as a personal attack. Lord knows I've had warnings about that!