The fatigue and the hopelessness—doesn’t it ever stop? Sometimes. But when it stops, there’s the fear and anticipatory anxiety about its return. And it does return. With a mental illness that’s so powerful yet so mysterious, is there any hope?

Depression ruled my life for nine years. Everything seemed hopeless when I was depressed. It was utter misery. When I wasn’t depressed, I was constantly afraid and worried about its return. What an exhausting, unfulfilling way to live. Could anything be done? I tried medication. Mostly, it numbed me. I was alive, but the spirit that made me “me” seemed to be gone. Were my only choices to live in despair or to be without despair, but at the cost of a sense of aliveness and vitality?

One day, I stumbled upon what I now call the Emotional Discharge Method. Though I discovered it at no credit to myself, it’s what eventually led to a shedding away of depression. What was left when the depression had shed off? A completely new outlook on life....