Few days ago, @Luis Castro posted about emotional intelligence and about the role of gender in this area! What do you think about this? Personally I think gender has no role to play in this. Even though females are a bit more into the emotional side. Experience and past is the key factor here!

I'm somebody who has struggled with bouts of depression. I was diagnosed at the age of 15 and medicated from that point on. I was on antidepressants and very strong sleeping pills for just on 5 years. At some point I decided I couldn't live on medication anymore and asked to be slowly taken off. My doctor wasn't so sure but I was insistent. That is when fitness took a front row seat in my life. It served as my anchor and apart from bouts of illness, I have never missed much time from training because it is a way to keep myself anchored. Of course over the years I have had my ups and downs but over that time I have built up a treasure trove of tools to help me cope, when times get dark, including meditation. My question is, have any of you had something similar and if so what are some of your coping strategies?