In October of 2013, author Andrew Solomon gave a talk on the topic of depression at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This talk, an intensely in-depth look at depression through Solomon's experiences, had within it a bit of humor that resonated deeply.
"If you have brain cancer, and you say the standing on your head for 20 minutes every morning makes you feel better, it may make you feel better, but you'll still have brain cancer, and you'll probably die from it. But if you have depression and say that standing on your head for 20 minutes a day makes you feel better, then it's worked, because depression is an illness of how you feel, and if you feel better, then you are effectively not depressed anymore."
In the case of mental illness and definitely so in the case of depression, the ways to treat the illness are innumerable. Contrary to deeply Americanized logic, there is a way beyond the two-party system of either medications or talk therapy. In countries like Senegal as Solomon discusses in his talk, treating mental illness is an act involving sun, song and dance, and entire communities.
For years, younger me knew there was another way, or at least, wanted to believe there was one. In fact, there was one, and much, much more. I, as many people likely do, proceeded to go to college with the intent of studying my illness in hopes of learning more to help both myself and others. I came to find some answers, enhanced by a concept derived from a book: the notion that mental illness is like being stuck in a ravine. If you're in a ravine, it's unlikely that you can get out of it alone. However, relationships of any kind (even with a plant) are hands reaching into that ravine, looking to help pull you out of it.
In my times of introspection, I found that my alone time needed limiting; I can only sit with myself for so long before lying in a bed with nothing but a laptop screen and my thoughts, as that was proving detrimental to me. Simple texts from people, while nice, were not enough. I needed people to be there. So I sought out time with people that mattered to me and have found that this combination of time with others has led to tremendous growth for me as a person.
What makes this special is that this is one in an infinite number of different alternatives people may utilize for themselves to treat their mental illness. The path to feeling better is not so strictly limited to medication and talk therapy.
