The diagnosis at the bottom of my bill said, dysthymia.. My psychiatrist had told me that he was going to send that diagnosis to the insurance company. "What is it?" I asked.

It was many, many years ago. I was in my 30s and re-starting therapy after moving across the country. My mood was not good. I felt inadequate to the task of finding work. I felt that people didn't like me. I felt that I wasn't going to succeed in life. All of this ran somewhat counter to the fact that I'd had a very good...