Introduction

Mental health, and depression in particular, has always been a very poorly understood condition, even within the medical profession.

When the author sought help, she found varying degrees of competency in the medical profession.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Finally, she was diagnosed with severe depression, and the psychiatrist prescribed ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) as the only solution that would be effective.

Personal Perspective

An added dimension was that her psychiatrist helped her get a job as a psychiatric aid in a state mental institution, so she writes her story from the perspective both as a patient and as a mental health caregiver.