Oh, I agree: there's a fascinating wealth of material on how the depressed mind works to be had by observing the MLCer in action. I'm just suggesting ... observe, stow the information away, and once the crisis resolves itself (if it does in his case) and he's once again in possession of his right mind, that is the time to analyze the data and make sense of it. The pattern really can only be made out from a distance.
Feeling (compassionately) detached is the best feeling, isn't it?
I found that curiosity about how the mind works, turned inward, was so empowering--to have the time to examine how I'd developed certain beliefs and determine whether they were still serving me, to accept that certain interactions within the marriage were actually leftover coping skills from childhood situations and to learn to recognize and defuse these reactions, to embrace those parts of myself I'd neglected, etc, etc, was a complete luxury. (It was also far more interesting and profitable than arm-chair analyzing H, though of course I had my times with that as well). I loved the changes I was able to make as a result.
The MLC mind can make dramatic shifts, but it's all down to things like how much seratonin their brains are getting at the time and how clearly they can think relative to their level of depression and whether they need a new addiction to get the same amount of "kick"--so although it's fascinating to watch, it doesn't add up to much.
