The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression

The field of depression is wide open now as more people learn about it and realize that they too might be a victim. New treatments,different approaches in pharmacotherapy,genetic studies,dialectics and better understanding of neurotransmitters all add to the jumble one faces when having to deal with and get help for depression.These endless and sometimes opposing vistas can boggle the mind of both the treater and the sufferer.Depression, taken alone is and of itself most vexing in its ability to resist effective,long lasting treatment and cure however,cure is possible as is symptom relief.Solomon has written a comprehensive book both in scope and explanation of not only depression but all the ancillary factors that encircle it. The writer who is also a sufferer has put forth for all to see his own battle and deftly describes the ongoing war he fights daily from within and without.He incorporates his own life and compares it to the current discussion if applicable amid the twelve or so chapters.Because of his own plight it is easy for him to understand the plight of those he interviews, relate his experiences with acute exacerbations,the need to withdraw from life, his attempts at suicide and use of medication and hospitalization and how his interpersonal relationships evolved or devolved because of it.Insights abound as you digest his clear,well written self analysis and struggles. Many areas are intelligently covered for the clinician to incorporate into a more complete armamentarium as well as a clarified,engaging sympathetic compass to help the depressed chart their way through the dark.At times the data,and discussion can get heavily clinical as it is clear that he did his homework on this topic so this book may not be for everyone as it goes deeper than some books that relay simply what happened and how I got better so do what I did and you'll be better too.No, this book does not do that at all, in fact it leaves one with the feeling that perhaps this battle will continue for sometime.As our world gets smaller our self contracts as well with isolative,impersonal e- mail,texting and a lack of person to person connectedness as in the past.This unwittingly can create anxiety and further ones sense of isolation which is a fertile breeding ground for depression.Twenty years ago, William Styron wrote his classic,Darkness Visible,which explored his own personal involvement with depression with a clarity and openess that it is unimaginable to me how he could remember and relate such a deep and enveloping flight into hell. His ability to convey that to the reader under such conditions was truly amazing and a work to be admired for its honesty and ability to find a nerve in fellow sufferers and help them come out of it using his strength as a hopeful guide.Here too, the author has utilized his own struggle to engage the reader,helping to maintain the awareness of and difficulty for those outside looking in to maintain an empathic stance not running to the old standby 'just snap out of it already',a stance easily stated by a family member, friend or even a clinician, not from any lack of empathy mind you, but from frustration at just how hard depression is to treat.Watching someone suffer from this is exhaustingly taxing because progress is so slow, avoidance is sometimes the only defence left to utilize when all other modes of treatment fail.This is what we as clinicians and others must guard against.I first learned of this book while watching a documentary on Abraham Lincoln which discussed his own fight with depression and suicidal thinking.I looked it over and was glad I read it.I don't think a more comprehensive compilation of depression and its parameters from its early history to current thought exists as good as this one.It is both honest,personal yet Solomon has the ability to step back and give concise,current information as well as write it clearly,intelligently and on a level for all to digest. This book will enhance understanding of this dreaded disease on both sides of the table. It should,in my opinion be required reading for all those who plan to enter the field or who are already in it and hopefully will be someday as well as for those who suffer from depression and want a mature guide or atlas, if you will, to help you get through it.All will benefit from this book, as did I.

This book is written superbly in describing depression. Intellectually, and accurate in the other aspects around the subject.

I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to better understand the complexities of depression, from those who live with it personally to those who have/lost a loved one who does/did. It articulates how the lows of depression feel in a way that I couldn't put to words until I read it.Atlas may throw some off a bit. It's not so much a clinical book on depression. There are certainly clinical references given that lay a foundation of the science of depression and it's treatments. But it is also a bit of a memoir, which I didn't mind at all.Some may feel the author's inclusion of personal accounts come from a place of privilege and thus negates the validity of his experience. That thinking is precisely why this book needs to be read. This misunderstanding that the struggles of those who are perceived to "have it good", arbitrarily decided by whom I don't know, don't count is part of the reason some people suffer in silence and for much longer than necessary. Shaming them into silence because their circumstance seems ideal to YOU is why many take so long to get help and only get worse as a result. Depression knows no tax bracket, no gender, no race, no age. Circumstances certainly may trigger it, but bank accounts, passports, degrees matter less and less when you're in the midst of a downswing of emotion. Depression lives outside the realm of reason.All that said, I appreciate the picture of depression that was given by the author. I was personally able to find a foundation that will help me fully understand and describe to others what goes on in my head when I'm going through an episode. Even better that such a vivid picture may help me better manage my own.