A personal account of depressive illness and its antidepressant treatment

Depression crept quietly over me as a shadow lengthens towards dusk. Probable contributory factors include familial predisposition, multiple bereavement, physical illness and being abused online. The first few days of antidepressant drug treatment were unsettling, but I responded steadily, the medication side effects proved tolerable, and my depressive and anxiety symptoms had remitted within 4 weeks. Insights from literature were helpful in recovery. I hope this experience of illness and treatment will enhance my clinical practice and contribute to discussions about depression and antidepressant medicines.