Brotherly Just wanted to say thanks to everyone here who helped me. It's all a bit personal if you want to →[More:]I heard from my older brother in Ohio the other day, and everything with his family seems to be much better since he started taking zoloft.

1. He isn't depressed anymore, so he can see the things that needed attention and fix them.

2. His first reaction to EVERYTHING isn't negative and cynical. You have no idea what a difference this is. I find it a little like being around a different person; a stranger who knows me well.

3. He's taken my nephew horseback riding, rockwall-climbing, etc. He even got the lad to take the stabilisers off his bike. Their relationship seems much improved. I'm fucking OVERJOYED that they've managed to pry him away from his games console. I don't know precisely what other parental inroads they've made... he may not want to tell me. He didn't really ARTICULATE these changes... he sent photos.

4. Subjects like divorce and suicide no longer come up when I talk to him.

5. He doesn't sound drunk when he calls. He told me that he started having really bad hangovers (after beginning to take zoloft), so he's cut down to almost none. This was a very necessary thing, as his drinking was, um, excessive.

I'm certain that all this is a direct result of me nagging him when he came here in July. I'm really happy about this. I wish it hadn't ruined my summer holiday, but c'est la vie.

In other familial news, my mom has also started taking an SSRI, and she says that she feels 'miraculously better' and that it's like 'an elephant's foot had been pressing on her chest for 30 years.'

I think that everyone in my family suffers from depression, especially my sister: the one person in my family whom I just cannot seem to connect with. Her problems are much bigger...

I know that I've never made it to a meet-up (my wife really dislikes the idea and getting to London is quite an ordeal)... so I feel like a bit of an unwelcome guest at times. It's been good of y'all to put up with me.

I just wanted to say thanks to the Bunny Patrol for being there for me when the chips were down.