Due to involvement in communities seeking alternatives to the illness model of depression, I've come to the conclusion that that model is unhelpful to about as

Due to involvement in communities seeking alternatives to the illness model of depression, I've come to the conclusion that that model is unhelpful to about as many people as it is helpful. For myself (lifelong struggles with melancholy and several Major Depression diagnoses) this has been the rough effectiveness of approaches: Medication: nil Therapy: very slight, highly dependent on circumstances Changing circumstances: Extremely effective when things go my way, but ultimately not effective because life is chaotic, and gatekeepers always have either more or much more control over your circumstances than you do, unless you're a gatekeeper. Or, you can be winning at life in every way, but you and your loved ones are still eligible for sudden misfortune. Mindfulness: Very effective. Takes practice, but totally worth it, and ultimately becomes something you can control more than most other things.