Synopsis "Faces of Depression"
One in ten Americans will suffer from a form of depression at some point in their life. It's a remarkable number, yet for a disease that afflicts so many, surprisingly little is known about it. At least, little is known and understood about it by the general public. It is often a misunderstood situation, in which those around the afflicted simply cannot comprehend what the symptoms and characteristics can do to a person. They do not see the battles being fought, nor do they realize the toll depression takes not just on the sufferer, but on those around them. Dr. Elizabeth McGhee Nelson has broken the mold on books about depression with her new work, "Faces of Depression." In it, she strives to dispel the myths about depression and invites readers to relate to those who suffer from it, whether recognizing themselves, a friend, a family member or neighbor in the stories told by survivors. For it is the survivors who tell the stories in "Faces of Depression," giving frank accounts of what it's like to live with depression, or to live with someone who suffers from it. In a unique format, Dr. Nelson presents their stories as they relate to depression's face and body, sensations, perceptions, emotions, cognition and culture, patterns, relatives and finally, what it means to face depression. Departing from the usual approach of presenting information intended as statistical research, a diagnostic tool or an outline of treatment methods, "Faces of Depression" strives only to enlighten and educate those touched by it. In this, it succeeds remarkably well, for those who hear the stories will never look at depression in the same way again.
