12/08/2026
Lately, I’ve found myself pondering the question ‘‘If antidepressants and therapy work so well, why are so many of us still depressed?’
When it comes to depression recovery it’s a given that we’ll be prescribed medication and if we’re lucky, given access to therapy.
Both of these are important for people with depression, and although I’m against meds being handed out like sweeties without adequate supervision or knowledge of the effects of long term use, I'm not going to argue against either.
But somewhere along the way, we seem to have missed something when it comes to the actual lived experience of depression and what it feels like on a day to day basis.
Depression doesn’t conveniently wait until the next therapy session to hit us hard. We struggle in between, feeling alone and hopeless, desperately needing support that just isn't available. Especially at 4am when everything feels darkest.
No amount of meds can help us get out of debt, or a toxic relationship, help us get a job, make people accept us for who we are, or change the state of the planet right now.
In my experience medication zombified me so I felt nothing at all and certainly didn’t feel able to tackle the problems that the depression was borne out of. So nothing changed and I remained trapped in the prison of my own mind.
So what are we supposed to do between therapy sessions when the Black Dog hits us hard and we have no one to turn to?
How do we deal with the situations that cause us to be depressed?
What if we can’t access therapy at all?
There are so many people suffering from depression that the health services are overwhelmed and often only see those they deem at most risk.
The rest are sent home with a prescription and the promise of being on a 3 year waitlist to get just 6 weeks of therapy.
What if we have no support network around us in the meantime?
I've spent a long time considering this gap in how we manage depression. I lived in this space for many years, numbed by meds and feeling unresolved after a therapy session that couldn’t help me find the way out of a bad situation - but only addressed my feelings about it.
I haven’t just lived it, I’ve been watching others live in this reality, too, being handed medication and absolutely nothing else to help them heal.
Lately I’ve found myself wondering how I can help people who are battling the Black Dog to get through the day.
What did I need when I felt so hopeless I didn’t have the will to live?
What do others need to not just survive the day, but enjoy living the day?
With these questions in mind, I’ve started building something.
I'm not ready to tell you exactly what it is yet. But I wanted you to know it's coming, and I wanted to start telling you about why I’m building it.
If this gap sounds familiar, please let me know.
I’d love to know your experiences with meds and therapy and what else you need that would make a difference to your mental health?
Your story could help me make what I’m building even better and help more people to ditch the black dog of depression.
With love and magick always,
Maria xx
Ecotherapist, Energy Healer and Black Dog Whisperer.
