Hi @lifeisawesome, thanks for sharing. If you're interested in an alternative (and somewhat controversial) perspective on mental health, I recommend checking out my recent post entitled, You do not 'have' Depression or ADHD or PTSD or [insert mental 'disorder']: https://steemit.com/psychology/@invisiblegorilla/you-do-not-have-depression-or-adhd-or-schizophrenia-or-ptsd-or-insert-mental-disorder
Regarding medication for depression, I would also recommend you take a look at Irving Kirsch's great book, The Emperor's New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth: https://www.amazon.com/Emperors-New-Drugs-Exploding-Antidepressant/dp/0465022006/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471930513&sr=8-1&keywords=emperors+new+drugs
I can't honestly say that was very controversial in my eyes - it's the theory I based my recovery model on. As soon as I stopped telling myself "I have Bipolar type x" then the will to change myself for the better became stronger. As a young man I was taught to be proud of my illness and own it, yet as I grew older I realised that by brandishing myself as "x type of crazy" then the easier it was to slip into these labels.
"Sorry that I do that - it's my "x""
Whereas it should be,
"Sorry I did that, I will try harder next time"
I've always felt that removing labels from diagnosis' has allowed me to move forward. The doctor tells me I'm recovered now, by the way.
That's wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing. I wish you'd shared this comment in my post, yesterday. It may have led some of the naysayers to pause and ponder for a moment, before firing off their emotionally-charged reactions.
I'll keep a look out! - I only saw your post when you pasted it to me. Good stuff, though! :)