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Thirty five years ago, when I felt sick or down, it could have been anything. Medicine was not so advanced, nor was I at my own self-diagnosis, of which I had many. I was sure I had depression as it ran in my family. I labeled it depression, took it to the m.d. and he bought in.

After about six or so meetings, I realized nothing was getting better, and decided nothing was wrong except that I was suffering the same pressures and anxiety that everyone else did in life. But it was not to be. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Then I decided that if I could land a decent job with a great salary, all my maladies would suddenly disappear I landed a job as chief writer and editor at a major network in Washington, D.C. At age thirty six. By age thirty seven, I had read enough about depression to know I had it. I immediately took action and visited a local psychologist who brought a psychiatrist aboard to try a combination of talk and medicine therapy. Year after year I religiously attended my therapy meeting and took my myriad of pills, combinations of pills, changing pills, increasing dosages of pills, etc. Nothing worked yet the medical community continued to applaud me for doing so much better. I begged to them that nothing had changed (I knew how I felt inside my body a lot more than they did), but they insisted the changes were so subtle, I would surely notice if I stopped taking my medicines and discontinued therapy. I did just that. No difference whatsoever. By then, I could barely work much less get out of bed. I made myself do it. I still don’t know how, but felt I needed to.

By 1994, still very “depressed”, I figured I better live my dream and live it fast. I would have to write a blockbuster screenplay so moved to Los Angeles and started taking classes. I wrote several full-length motion pictures. I was sinking yet deeper into depression. I was certain that if just one of the films would make it, I would be happy forever. What a fools game and I was playing it like the fool I had become. I was now on a relatively new class of drugs called SSRI’s or Prozac. They told me if this didn’t help, probably nothing would. It did not help.

Then my mother, living alone in Mississippi fell ill. I returned home to care for her. This served to give me a purpose, as she had cared for me as a child, and I felt okay on some days.

Though I rarely had time to read magazines, one afternoon whil etaking mom to the doctor, I picked up a New Yorker in the waiting room. There was an article about a new experimental treatment called VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) for something called TRD (treatment resistent depression). It was more common than once thought. The symptoms were explained and they were identical to mine. Though it had been available on the market for TRE (treatment resistent epilepsy) it was not yet available for TRD. But a small manufacturer, Cyberonics in Houston, the manufacturer of it, was in battle with the FDA and other powers that be.

My mission to follow the activities of Cyberonics became obsessive. I knew this was my only hope. It taught me a great lesson in patience. It was not approved for another eight years.

The battle of Cybernoics vs. the pharmaceutical ane medical establishment was fierce. Cybernonics and patients had everything to gain, the medical community everything to lose (patients). Cybernonics eventually, thank God, won.

Since I continued to “be punished” in my hometown (was very disenfranchised by then), I started to research. My search was focused on towns with low cost of living, high quality of life, and an advanced medical community. I was not finding any of that at home. Surprisingly Hot Springs, Ar became a top choice. The major medical community was in Little Rock, less than an hour away and UALR Medical Campus was considered one of the most advanced in the country (to my surprise). It’s name was and is up there with many more familiar names like Sloan-Kettering, M.D. Anderson, and Johns Hopkins.

In September of 2005, I finally heard that VNS therapy had been approved by the FDA for treatment of TRD. To my knowledge, it was the only medical modicum that had been approved for such.

Now the problem was how to “get my name on the list”. So I called Cyberonics and they turned me over to a nurse/caseworker, who got right on the case. She found the (very few) surgeons who performed this one hour procedure, and she had to talk my insurance into covering it based on my medical history of years of no results.

On January 25, 2006, almost nine years after I first started following the news of the VNS implant, I received the procedure in Little Rock, Ar. at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

I remember waking up and feeling very light. Something had happened, but I was not sure what. I knew almost immediately that I’d gotten the procedure. I asked a nurse if “it was in” and she assured me it was.

For the first time since I was about twelve years old, I felt no depression? I still had some anxiety but it was based on thinking “my mood is about to swing any minute and there is not a damned thing I can do about it”. Minutes passed by and then hours. No mood swing. I felt like a child playing in the sandbox in kindergarten My worries and stresses were minimal.

Every month, I continued to go to Little Rock for a computerized non-invasive “tune up”; the doctor merely turns up the frequency another notch. It is at a point now where it is every three months and by the end of the year, the depression will be in total remission.

How is my progress? Amazing. I can remember like yesterday that I could not get out of bed, it was a huge chore to clean my home, studying was a brutal task as was work, and all that changed. I love what I do, I do it well, and do it joyfully. Today I am a cartoonist and etailer and full time student, have a wonderful girlfriend, and all kinds of doors opening that were closed, due to my having a undiagnosed disease, and at that, one that was not only socially-unnacceptable but one that a lot of people do not believe exists.

My faith has been renewed in both a higher power, people, and the medical community. It had been long-gone for a good many years.

Is the depression cured? Heaven’s no. But today, I can easily call it “temporary blues”, the type any person could get.

I heard it again and again, keep this to yourself, Rick. The world is not ready to hear about this kind of disease and recovery. We still live in a bit of a puritan world.

My reply is “So what? Let them use it. If one person reads this with TRD and learns about it, and is fortunate enough to receive the implant, people can use it against me all they want. Doesn’t matter in the least. Let one person get well from this most dreadful disease and it’s all worth telling the story. Really. Well, back to work. Life is good. Live it!

Many things can be triggers for anger each day. If you have a rough encounter with a co-worker , tension with a family member or a difficult phone call this can create stress. It weakens one just as germs can make one vulnerable to an illness.

It’s easier to be angry than to feel sympathy for someone who knows how to push our buttons. Still, do you like yourself when you are all reactive and upset? Who is the real you, the one who just blows up or the one who can control the temper?

In the context of driving this can have dangerous consequences because you can honk your horn in anger, cut someone off, dodge in and out of lanes and be wreckless. This can have a domino effect on other drivers that get upset at you for your behaviour or even trigger their own pent up emotions.

If you see someone in the midst of an emotional outburst while you are driving don’t get in their way. They are not in control of themselves and this is not someone you want to bait . Accept that they at this point in time aren’t able to deal with their own frustrations and don’t escalate it for them.

When someone is driving dangerously don’t make eye contact. If you do they will probably take it the wrong way and feel challenged or belittled. When you are near them don’t try to get back at them . Keep your own center and that is the best way to act in these circumstances. You can also call 911 if someone is really acting erratic or irrational.

Anger management tools enable someone to stay centered in the midst of tought situations. Through breathing and relaxation techniques you are able to keep things in perspective, not get bent out of shape and practice realizing that things will pass and your feelings can’t rule you.

The beauty of anger management tools is that you can see that all the aspects of your life are improving. You don’t just get calmer on the road, you’ll also be calmer when your kids are egging you on or your boss is criticizing you or your mother-in-law is getting to you.

Self-mastery is a great accomplishment and one you’ll be so proud of. You won’t feel like you are just living out your subconscious because you have a moment of choice where you can act intelligently with clarity. This takes some work but it is so worth it.

If you have a misbehaving child, you can correct those behavioral problems.

In spite of your child’s defiance and impossible to live with behavior, you can alter that behavior. You can have an enjoyable life with your child as an integral part of your family.

Have you ever been embarrassed by your children’s behaviors? Did you ever wish they would just do as they are told? Do you want to cut out all the screaming, hollering and shouting at home? DO YOU EVER WISH FOR JUST FIVE MINUTES OF PEACE AND QUIET? You can have that time and much more — you can actually begin to enjoy being a parent.

The widely acclaimed “The Good Child Guide” was written especially for parents such as you. It was written by Dr. Noel Swanson, M.D., and Consultant Child Psychiatrist, and is based on his expertise and experience while working with thousands of families in both North America and England. Those families all wanted the same thing: More FUN and LESS STRESS as a family.

Some familes had children with major problems: learning disabilities, ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, autism and obsessive compulsive disorders. Some children believed they owned the world; there were those who threw temper tantrums and beat up on their siblings. Then there were those who steadfastly refused to do as they were told and those who thought only of themselves and wanted everything NOW!

You need not feel as though you are hopeless and complete failures as many of those parents felt.

There is truly hope for you. Dr. Swanson’s book - The Good Child Guide - can be read in just two hours. You will then be prepared to deal with your children’s behavior. During the reading of that book you will learn the secrets for ending those temper tantrums, the disobedience, rudness, lying and stealing. You will also learn how to restore peace, quiet, and harmony and how be begin having FUN in your family life.

If you give The Good Child Guide a fair try, Dr. Swanson guarantees your satisfaction, and if after a full three months you are not saisfied, he will return your money in full — no questions!

Why wait to enjoy those moments of peace, quiet and harmony as a family. Order your copy of The Good Child Guide now.