Douglas Bloch - Healing from Depression: 12 Weeks to a Better Mood

I t takes a whole village to shepherd a person through a dark night of the soul. At least, that has been my experience. Without the care and concern of a legion of guardian angels who lifted me out of the black hole of life-threatening depressive illness, this book would not have been written.

My appreciation begins with the staff of the Sellwood Day Treatment Clinic, who provided a safe haven not only for myself, but for twenty to thirty other sufferers of mental illness during the winter of 1996 and 1997. These health care providers include clinic director Peter Grover; my psychiatrist, Allen Stark; therapists Pat Ritter, Victoria Peacock, Vicki Vanderslice, Mike Terry, Art Kowitich, and Tracey Jones; and office manager Beth Morphew. Sadly, the day treatment program has now closed.

In addition to receiving expert professional help, I was blessed with courageous friends. Though not everyone had the fortitude to endure my agitated moods, there were those who chose to stand beside meStuart Warren, Ann Garrett, Joe Mitchell, Kathleen Herron, Cathy Brenner, Cynthia Waller, and Linda Larsen-Wheatley. During my darkest hours, Raeanne Lewman's loving massage gave me some small pleasure to look forward to once a week.

I also received tremendous support from the patients at day treatment. Evelyn, Kate, Terri, Lynette, Angela, Jacob, Chris, Leon, Robert, Mike, Todd and TomI bless you and pray that you, too, have found some relief from your torment.

My appreciation also goes to Terry Grant and Leslie Newman for your professional home health services.

I will forever be grateful to Marsha Nord for insisting that I would come out on the other side, and to Teresa Keane for teaching me the mindfulness techniques that allowed me to hold on, minute by minute, until help arrived.

This help took the form of the God group, a group of spiritual friends who gathered together with me at the Living Enrichment Center over a six-month period and held a vision of healing and wellness for me. They are Mary Manin Morrissey and Eddy Marie Crouch (who initiated the meetings), Pat Ritter, Dennis McClure, Victoria Etchemendy, Judy Swensen, Sally Brunell, Stuart Warren, Joan Bloch, Michael Moran, Ann Garrett, Dianne Pharo, Mark and Tracy Soine, Adele Zimmerman, Sally Rutis, and Jon Merritt.

Thanks to Phoenisis McEachin and Araline Cate, whose body-work helped me to stabilize once the depression lifted.

Last but not least, my deepest thanks go to Joan Christine Bridgmanfor being such a loyal friend and caregiver (thank you for all those lifesaving walks in Forest Park), and to Joan Bloch for returning when I most needed her and for giving our marriage a second chance.

Six weeks after my remission began, I was guided to tell the story of my healing in a book called When Going Through HellDon't Stop! At that point, a new crew of helpers appeared to aid and abet the literary process. The first of these were the Reverend Michael Moran and my late therapist, Anne Zimmerman, who first encouraged me to tell my story. Once I became well enough to write, Teresa Keane enthusiastically stepped in as my primary editor and gave generously of her time as well as of her professional expertise. I am also appreciative of Phineas Warren's suggestion that I create a mini self-help manual to follow the book's personal narrative. Helen Tevlin, Ph.D., became my technical advisor and provided helpful feedback about the accuracy and precision of the clinical information I presented. Helena Wolfe provided her invaluable expertise in designing and formatting the book.

Throughout the two years of writing, my therapist Pat Ritter and my Master Mind group (Joan Bloch, Stuart Warren, Ann Garrett, Jon Merritt, Judy Swensen, Beth Hahn and John Brown) helped me to maintain my emotional stability and serenity.

In addition, the following people agreed to read and comment on early drafts of the manuscript: Miki Barnes, Joan Bridgman, Deanna Byrne, Araline Cate, Al Coffman, Eddy Marie Crouch, Krystyna Czarnecka, Larry Dossey, Chip Douglas, Bob Edelstein, Jim Eddy, John Engelsman, Victoria Etchemendy, Elliot Geller, Penny Gerharter, Joel Goleb, Miriam Green, Beth Hahn, Heather Hannum, Jim Hunzicker, Lee Judy, Ann Kelley, Tonia Larson, Brian Litt, Lynne Massie, Dennis McClure, Rhea McDonnell, Philip Mostow, Michael Moran, Marsha Nord, Tracy Pilch, Luella Porter, Pat Ritter, Bruce Robinson, Al Siebert, Vicki Vanderslice, Julie Weiss, Linda Larsen-Wheatley, and Adele Zimmerman. Thank you all for your invaluable feedback.

A year after When Going Through HellDon't Stop! was published I decided to teach a series of 12-week classes on healing from depression and anxiety, which incorporated my own experience in recovering from depression with information based on the latest clinical research. These classes provided the inspiration for the creation of Healing From Depression. I am grateful to the people who came to those initial classes with open hearts and courageous spirits. I also give thanks to my two Portland editors, Michelle Singer and Patricia Koch who generously gave of their time to read through the material on the better mood program, as well as to Joann Deck and Lorena Jones of Ten Speed Press for their belief in this project.

Finally, I once again dedicate this book to Anne Zimmerman, my late therapist who first encouraged me to write about my recovery, but whose life was lost to suicide during her own depressive episode. I pray that this work, in honor of her memory, may prevent similar tragedies by offering hope and practical coping strategies to those who are still lost in the darkness of depression.