Mental Health Bookclub discussion

I've been reflecting on my own anxiety and depression issues lately and have been trying to find some books to give me more context for my experience. (Lacking the context and self-insight to realise I *had* depression meant it went unmanaged for many years longer than it should have.) I'm looking to get more of a sense of other people's experience with depression, and the current consensus around what is likely to cause depression and the arguments around it. For example I also have migraines and I had a good experience with Oliver Sacks' "Migraine", which got me to a point where thinking about the topic no longer makes me get queasy and break out in a cold sweat. Does anything remotely like that exist for depression?

What I've come across so far (browsing actual physical bookshops to narrow the field) is either memoirs on a single person's experience, or self-help guides, which are valuable but not quite what I'm looking for. I'm trying to get at this conceptually. There were many extremely problematic-looking volumes that seemed like they could've been called "My Big Answer to What Depression Is" but I'm not convinced that kind of monolithic approach would help me out here either.

The one thing I've come across so far which seems like it might be OK is "The Noonday Demon"?

Thanks in advance!

Hey Alex,

I'm new to Goodreads and this group. I just noticed your post.

I've debated responding because my suggestion concerns my own experience and a self-help guide. However, my suggestion also touches on what you are looking for, without the book being a massive tome. In Finding Your Safety Net: Do Having Faith, Being Baptized, and Taking Communion Have Value?, I describe causes for my depression, how I worked to survive it, and what worked and what I wouldn't recommend. I also even describe a certain experience that seemed like it could have been depression, but it was not. These experiences are in chapter 1 and 4. Perhaps those chapters and the rest of the book can help you continue to navigate and strengthen your mental health?

With Regards,

Glen