One reason we're not winning the fight against depression is that our available treatments leave so many in partial recovery limbo.

Rather than assuming weakness or defectiveness, we should acknowledge that getting through depression requires considerable strength. Rather than assuming permanent debility, we should recognize that some depressions are followed by thriving.

When I noticed other people, I wondered what it was like to be alive. They did not know, could not know, how I felt inside. My shell still passed for normal. I felt like I should scream for help, someone should help, but I knew that the time for screaming had passed. Best to just keep on walking, walking dead, one of the few things I could still do. So I kept walking.

Monitoring depression is very important. Often people come in for treatment when they are starting to get worse.

Depression is devastating, and there is no shame in getting treatment.

Unfortunately, the spectrum of treatment options for depression in pregnant women is narrow, and other medicines, such as benzodiazepines, carry a Category D pregnancy risk factor with a significant confirmed risk to human fetuses.