| I do have a tendency to become depressed if I'm not careful. I've only flirted with what would be considered clinical depression. Usually I'm upbeat, but when I do have depression it is usually "Mild", occasionally "Moderate", with only a few times in my life "Severe". That's why I try and be cheerful as much as I reasonably can (see the bottom line of my sig I put on a few days ago). Most people would not consider me a cheerful person as I don't show my emotions much. I'm kinda flat as far as feeling and showing my emotions. I've recently started an anti-anxiety medication which is also used for depression (well mostly it's prescribed for depression, but I don't want that label applied to me as it could affect my employability in the future and I'm not really depressed, just off the charts anxious without medication) and now I feel and show more emotions other than anger. My biggest depressor is pain. I have joint pain all over my body. Usually mild, sometimes severe. It starts as an ache, then works it's way to fire/ache. High salt and MSG's can greatly contribute to the pain, but are not always to blame. The docs when I was in the navy ran basic tests for arthritis and Lupus which came back negative, then in stead of doing their job they just gave up saying I was faking it. The pain from my spine and neck can give me headaches which if I don't actively work on getting rid of can turn into migraines. After a long time (weeks, months) of fighting the migraines almost daily along with the overall pain in my joints it can really have an effect on my mental and emotional health. I've written about part of my strategy in my blog on myspace, which is photography. I like photography, and use it as a means of trying to see the beauty in life. I try to see the beauty where others only see ugliness. I try to see others as Jesus would (tempered with a little caution out of self preservation). I usually carry a camera with me wherever I go, and look around me as I drive or walk around looking for some beauty or something interesting to take a picture of. I try and look around as if it is the first time I've been there, as if I've never seen the area and I'm discovering something new regardless of how many times I have been there. That is one of my most successful "coping" strategies for depression. | 
