MSI Press Blog

  The day after Valentine’s Day is its own kind of holiday — quieter, unadorned, and strangely revealing. It’s the emotional hangover after the glitter has settled. The flowers are still on the table, but they’ve already begun their slow wilt. The chocolates have been picked over. The cards sit open on the counter, their sweetness suddenly louder in the stillness. The day after joy always has a different temperature. It’s not just Valentine’s Day. It’s the day after a long‑awaited trip, the day after a family gathering that briefly made the world feel whole, the day after a celebration where you let yourself forget the hard parts of life. When the music stops, the silence can feel like a drop in altitude. You land back in your real life with a soft thud. There’s something sobering about that return. Sometimes even depressing. Because joy — real joy — lifts us. It suspends the weight we carry. It lets us forget the logistics, the griefs, the responsibilities, the chronic worri...

  excerpt from Depression Anonymous  (Dennis Ortman) --  PERSISTENT DEPRESSIVE DISORDER Alice, a woman feeling cheated by life: “I’ve been jinxed. Nothing has ever gone right for me. It began in childhood. I was the fat kid everyone picked on. In high school, no boys ever wanted to date me. And then there’s my health. I’ve suffered from asthma my whole life and had several auto accidents in which I was severely injured. I tried to make up for all my failures by being good at my job. I became an extremely competent executive secretary, a perfectionist. I took pride in my work. Would you believe I was fired because I complained so much about problems in the company? I just wanted the business to succeed. Even now, I’m the one who has to take care of our elderly parents because my siblings don’t want to have anything to do with them. You’d think my parents would appreciate all my help, but they just take me for granted. I often stay awake at night thinking about all the unfa...

                                Today's Publisher's Pride is  Depression Anonymous  by Dennis Ortman, which recently reached #79 on Amazon in emotional self-help. Book Description: When you feel depressed, suffering from a deep sadness, do you feel powerless over your mood? Does your life feel unmanageable because of it? Does your preoccupation with past hurts and regrets interfere with your life? Do you feel hopeless about finding a cure for your depression? If you answer "yes" to these questions, you may be addicted to your mood. It acts like a drug that sedates, numbs, and possesses you, causing you to sleepwalk through life. Viewing your depressed mood as an addiction, Dr. Ortman guides you through the time-tested Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to find healing and growth. He shows how the Steps offer practical wisdom to awaken your spirit deadened by your depression. The Steps p...