I agree with Vicki. This IS a highly personal disease. It's important to learn everything that we can, to work closely with a competent doctor who takes the time to know us, to find the right medications and stay on them, and to do everything possible to stay healthy and well. And then it's crucial to move on--to get beyond the tedium of self-scrutiny, and to put to good use what we've learned from the illness. And if we have willing hearts and curious minds and patient spirits--and if we are very very blessed to have friends and loved ones to support us in the journey--this disease can teach us a great deal.

Because I have struggled, I feel blessed as a therapist. I have an immediate respect for people who consult with me--and perhaps more than that, I have an irrepressable hope in the possibility of getting well and finding meaning. I'm not naive about the power of mental illness, or about the reality that some people stay attached to their identities as sick people. But I believe that all our pain can teach us. But the gifts are there when we can find ways to claim them.