Patryk had been suffering from depression for over three years and the medication he had been prescribed had done no good whatsoever. In fact, it had made the situation worse because of the side-effects of the drugs and his resentment at having to rely on what he saw as the crutch of drug treatment. This reinforced his sense of helplessness. However, when he had a new GP, he was pleased that a referral was made for him to receive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). He looked it up on the internet and, although this made him aware that there were doubts about its longterm effectiveness, he was pleased to see that the research indicated that it was often very effective in the short term at least. He realized that the help it could give him might be enough for him to come off the medication, and that in itself would be a very positive step forward.

The therapeutic help CBT offered him made such a big difference by helping him realize that he had such a negative outlook, such a strong tendency to interpret events in negative ways (reflecting the three Ps). By beginning to change his outlook on these matters, he was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. He was intelligent enough to know it would not be a magic cure, but it gave him hope that he would be able to leave the anti-depressants behind and make a fresh start.