Crazy, Who Me?

My depression reared it's ugly head at age 3. The "black pile" was my constant companion for the better part of 58 years until I finally found a way out. Yes, you can teach an old(er) dog new tricks!This is my journey of leading with depression; the causes, the effects on those around me, the successes, the failures, the desperation, the hopelessness, and finally finding the faith I didn't know I had. This is my story, good, bad and ugly.In these pages you'll find simple to understand ideas, strategies and tactics to overcome, minimize, and the potential to eliminate mental illness. Relating to mental illness requires empathy, not sympathy. The road to empathy requires education, Inside you'll find short but concise lessons to better understand depression and mental illnesses. My hope is that if you believe you have depression you'll come out and talk about it. If you sense a loved one or workmate has depression you can be empathetic and helpful as they navigate through their complicated lives. "This is a noteworthy book written by a remarkable man who has succeeded against all odds to build a $100 million family business. He did it while fighting lifelong depression. But you'd never know it by meeting John. He projects a cheerful attitude, confident energy, and an entrepreneurial swagger that dares you to challenge him. This is not a depressing book, but a book about a man who found his way from a very dark place. It is filled with pain, shame, terror, and despair. It also resonates with love, hope, and optimism – and his choice to get better."- Jack Muskat, PhD Clinical Psychologist - specializing in leadership therapy. "How is it that seemingly happy, high-functioning and successful people who have achieved greatness, suffer so often from depression? How can it be that we are often blind to the pain of the people closest to us and those that we admire from afar? John Panigas takes us on the fascinating journey of a true entrepreneur that lives life to the fullest and yet suffers deeply. His honest, humorous and engaging story is a page-turner that is a must read. Intertwining business issues with mental health challenges, John gives us a superb account of the life's difficulties without losing his inherent optimism for life. Now, more than ever, we need stories like John's so we can be better as individuals, as business people and as a society." - Mike Shriqui, President Co-Pack Packaging Corp. "Whether as an entrepreneur, blue-collar worker or a family member we all make decisions that are good, bad and regretful. I can only imagine the challenge of someone living and experiencing depression and having to lead and manage a business and deal with the stresses of everyday life. John shares his experiences as a father, an entrepreneur and as a human-being, and, shares with the reader the challenges and pain he experienced. The uniqueness of this marvelously written book is John's ability to share his life story while educating the reading with regards to depression. John goes into great detail helping the reader understand the disease and how he dealt with it as well as how he continues to manage depression." – Michael Zeidenberg, President Cornerstone Management and Consulting.