I think the author of this article did a wonderful thing sharing his experience with his mental illness and as someone who also suffers from it (but isn't as comfortable talking about it), it's comforting to know there's light at the end of the tunnel.

This was a good (and emotionally moving) read.

I know some people who have suffered from depression, and I can say this - being able to verbalize the behavior is extremely helpful for a lot people.

"What did you do today?" - this is the most important question for someone who is suffering from depression. Why? Because a lot of people (not all) are much better off when they practice habits that pull them out of depression. Think "drank alcohol, ate nonstop, slept, and watched Netflix" vs. "went for a run, called a family member, read a book, cooked dinner."

This doesn't "fix" clinical depression for everyone, of course, but the awareness of the behavior is such a big part of the battle.

I think this is really great he made an app for himself. As someone who personally suffers an anxiety disorder (with depression in tow most of the time), I would love to see the source code for this. If he would be up for making this open-source, I'm sure other developers for mental illnesses could make this personalized for themselves.