I have filled out a couple depression-related surveys recently. They both started by asking the usual questions: "How long have you been depressed?" "At what age did you first become depressed?" "How long did your depression last?" "How many months did you go between depressive episodes?" In both surveys, there were several questions regarding the periods of time during which I was not depressed. There was not an option where you could say that you never get over your depressive episodes. When I told my doctor this about a survey she had me filling out for some research study, she said, "Just do your best in answering the questions." I said, "Why...my correct answer is not there; so the results of the study would not be valid." I said I could not finish the survey. She looked frustrated with me. It seems to me that if they develop research surveys like this without all the possible options that people experience, it is no wonder that research does not advance more quickly. Grrrrrr!

My question is: How would you know if you were not in a depressive episode if you are on medication? I am always depressed. Even when I am on medication, I know that I am depressed. Does depression actually lift for some people? I could understand this if they were only depressed temporarily due to a specific situation, but everyone I know who is depressed virtually never gets over it. I guess maybe I only know people who (like me) have treatment-resistant depression, so their doctor keeps switching their medications around every several months. Maybe I am just blowing off steam since my doctor had me filling out that most recent silly survey last week.