As well as providing a history of his own depressive episodes, the book looks at the pathology of the condition, and there are also chapters on social aspects (e.g. poverty, politics) and the history of depression (the "History" chapter is the longest in the book).

While Solomon has undoubtedly had an awful time, you sometimes get the feeling that he sees depression everywhere he looks. After reading this book you feel that pretty much everyone must be subject to depression, and pretty much every mood change is an aspect of it. Maybe it is as widespread as the book implies, but I can't help thinking that the fact that he spent two years or whatever speaking to people about their experiences has led him to overestimate its incidence.

There are too many things in the book that I thought interesting for me to list all. Here are some of the things I highlighted while reading it:

• Many people feel the urge to write about their experiences of depression
• Patients often ask doctors "Am I depressed?". And the answer isn't as simple as checking off 5 of the 9 classical symptoms. (Solomon says "if you feel bad without reason most of the time, you're depressed")
• People may believe that their depression is rational and incurable, when in fact it may be neither
• Talking therapy (he describes CBT and IPT, but notes that any sympathetic listener can be effective) can help
• Antidepressants can be effective in up to 50% of cases, but it can take a long time to work out what is the best combination for a given individual
• ECT is the most effective of all treatments (up to 90% of cases)
• Regular exercise seems to be very useful in fighting depression
• He's not persuaded that St. John's Wort is worth using
• Suggests that the symptoms of the condition may change depending on culture (e.g. fainting spells in 18th Century; hysteria in 19th Century; depression or anorexia in 20th Century)
• To those suffering from depression: "this won't last"

Completed : 20-May-2003

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