Chronic Depression

[LiberalEsto]

5. I'm sorry for what you're dealing with, D.L.

Depression is hell.

I had a long bout with depression that finally ended, at least to some degree, 11 months ago. At the time I was in the depression, it felt like it would be permanent.

My 27-year-old daughter has been threatening to kill herself today. At the moment she is asleep, but we are at wits' end about what to do. She has refused for years to get counseling, although she sees a worthless psychiatrist for about 10 minutes every three months for med management. She's on lexapro for panic/anxiety disorder and depression.

She recently revealed that she's bulimic and she's probably an alcoholic. She lives at home and works maybe 10 hours a week as a waitress. The rest of the time she's alone in her room or hanging out with one close friend from high school, or seeing her bf of the moment. She has very low self-esteem too and says she feels like a total failure. She's dropped out of 5 colleges. One of the factors in my own depression was not knowing what to do for my daughter. Did I mention that she is beautiful and intelligent and funny and creative?