Key points

Status means being acknowledged and respected for things we do that matter to us, too.

When depression belittles what we do, we stop doing things.

Turning our attention outward toward others is crucial in beating depression.

Some years ago, a man called Gerald, who had fallen into a deep depression , came to see me for help. I still remember him so clearly, as he sat slumped in the chair, telling me that he had never done anything remotely of use to anyone in his life.

Gerald, it turned out, had worked for 20 years "on the ground" for a humanitarian organisation, doing much, at his own personal risk, to improve life for people struggling to survive in war-torn countries. When he retired from this demanding work in his mid-50s, he took up a role in youth work.

He and his

See Full Page