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conviction that external forces are controlling your mind or body; the feeling that other people can hear your thoughts or read your mind; hearing voices from outside your head; seeing things that aren’t there; and receiving personal messages broadcast from radio or television programs.
    These symptoms are not a part of depressive illness, but represent major mental disorders. Psychiatric treatment is a must. Quite often, people with these symptoms are convinced that nothing is wrong with them, and may meet the suggestion to seek psychiatric therapy with suspicious resentment and resistance. In contrast, if you are harboring the deep fear that you are going insane and are experiencing episodes of panic in which you sense you are losing control or going over the deep end, it is a near certainty that you are not. These are typical symptoms of ordinary anxiety, a much less serious disorder.
    Mania is a special type of mood disorder with which you should be familiar. Mania is the opposite of depression and requires prompt intervention by a psychiatrist who can prescribe lithium. Lithium stabilizes extreme mood swings and allows the patient to lead a normal life. However, until therapy is initiated, the disease can be emotionally destructive. The symptoms include an abnormally elated or irritablemood that persists for at least two days and is not caused by drugs or alcohol. The manic patient’s behavior is characterized by impulsive actions which reflect poor judgment (such as irresponsible, excessive spending) along with a grandiose sense of self-confidence. Mania is accompanied by increased sexual or aggressive activity; hyperactive, continuous body movements; racing thoughts; nonstop, excited talking; and a decreased need to sleep. Manic individuals have the delusion that they are extraordinarily powerful and brilliant, and often insist they are on the verge of some philosophical or scientific breakthrough or lucrative money-making scheme. Many famous creative individuals suffer from this illness and manage to control it with lithium. Because the disease feels so good, individuals who are having their first attack often cannot be convinced to seek treatment. The first symptoms are so intoxicating that the victim resists accepting the idea that his or her sudden acquisition of self-confidence and inner ecstasy is actually just a manifestation of a destructive illness.
    After a while, the euphoric state may escalate into uncontrollable delirium requiring involuntary hospitalization, or it may just as suddenly switch into an incapacitating depression with pronounced immobility and apathy. I want you to be familiar with the symptoms of mania because a significant percentage of individuals who experience a true major depressive episode will at some later time develop these symptoms. When this occurs, the personality of the afflicted individual undergoes a profound transformation over a period of days or weeks. While psychotherapy and a self-help program can be extremely helpful, concomitant treatment with lithium under medical supervision is a must for an optimal response. With such treatment the prognosis for manic illness is excellent.
    Let’s assume that you do not have a strong suicidal urge, hallucinations, or symptoms of mania. Instead of moping and feeling miserable, you can now proceed to get better, using me methods outlined in this book. You can start enjoying life and work, and use the energy spent in being depressed for vital and creative living.

Chapter 3
Understanding Your Moods: You Feel the Way You Think
    As you read the previous chapter, you became aware of how extensive the effects of depression are—your mood slumps, your self-image crumbles, your body doesn’t function properly, your willpower becomes paralyzed, and your actions defeat you. That’s why you feel so totally down in the dumps. What’s the key to it all?
    Because depression has been viewed as an emotional disorder throughout the history of