From a friend:

Over the last 2 years I have experienced a very significant decrease in the severe depression I had been struggling with for 40 years since adolescence. Prior to 2 years ago I was regularly deeply depressed (in the pits) for days, weeks or months at a time. In the last 2 years I have been  ¢â‚¬Å“in the pits ¢â‚¬  only once and not at all in the last 18 months.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk to a friend who suffers from depression and outline for him the key factors that have brought about significant changes for me over the last 2 years.

• Recognising and accepting that there is  ¢â‚¬Å“no simple answer ¢â‚¬  to my depression ¢â‚¬ ¦ that instead of looking for a one-time cure-all solution I need to manage the depression as a life-long condition that, bar a miracle, I will never be completely free from. (In most cases depression can be viewed as a medical condition similar to diabetes ¢â‚¬ ¦ it is not a matter of seeking a cure, it is a matter of treating it and managing it as best you can in order to achieve the best quality of life available to you.) For many years I had been looking for someone else (God, medical professionals, counselors, pastors) or something (medication) to provide an instant answer. The fact that this answer never came resulted in deep anger, frustration and disillusionment with God and with life in particular ¢â‚¬ ¦ and when you reach the point of concluding that there are  ¢â‚¬Å“no answers ¢â‚¬    this in turn leads to hopelessness and despair.
• Dealing with the root cause of the depression ¢â‚¬ ¦ (in my case) progressively becoming free of my lifelong fear of God ¢â‚¬â„¢s condemnation and rejection.
• Successfully applying a depression management technique ¢â‚¬ ¦ identifying the negative feelings when they occur, acknowledging that my negative feelings are  ¢â‚¬Ëœnot who I am ¢â‚¬â„¢ and that I can step aside from these feelings and still make decisions based on what I believe is best (most life-giving) in the situation rather than being controlled by the feelings and making feeling-based decisions.
  When appropriate, I can take time to analyse the negative feelings to identify the negative self-talk (NST) on which they are based. NST is often based on irrational fears and can be disputed and hopefully dispelled. If not the NST and the negative beliefs which in turn underlay it can be flagged for future counseling as professional help may be required to deal with them.
• Developing close supportive relationships with other men who I can share life ¢â‚¬â„¢s issues and struggles with at a deep level. Joining two men ¢â‚¬â„¢s groups which foster relationships, provide additional social activities which help to stop me being self-absorbed, provide opportunities for me to be focused on helping others.
• Finding meaning and purpose in life ¢â‚¬ ¦ I now have a new freedom to reconnect with God and discover what His purposes are for me in life. I now have the freedom to start exploring what it means to fulfill my life goal of    ¢â‚¬Å“setting other people free ¢â‚¬ .
• Alongside the above factors I fully acknowledge and value the role of ongoing professional assistance in my life including medication, therapy and counseling.

Resources/reading-lists.

The one on Depression is good…

http://headhearthand.org/resources