In late 2016, I was deeply depressed. I had hit one of my rock bottoms, and it was touch-and-go whether I’d make it through. My partner said that I had to get help — if not for my sake, then for hers. This reframed the problem for me. I told her I was willing to try anything.

I was lucky enough to be able to see a psychiatrist. She made several helpful suggestions, and she also asked whether I had ever tried meditation. I said no. I knew nothing about meditation; so little, in fact, that her suggestion surprised me a little. It had never occurred to me that meditation had anything to do with happiness. I asked her how it worked.

She said I could try any of the apps. She mentioned a few, including Headspace, so I downloaded it and began to meditate. Just ten minutes of meditation per day made an immediate difference in my ability to cope with life. I found it soothing, enjoyable, and easy to follow, and it calmed me down a lot.

Because I was curious about (and, I’ll admit, a little suspicious of) Buddhism, I took Robert Wright’s Buddhism and modern psychology course. I found I could immediately relate to several of the Buddha’s core assertions. In particular, I readily assented to the notion that life is suffering, and that the cause of suffering is desire. I had always had an extremely strong desire for things to be other than they were, and I knew that non-acceptance was related to my unhappiness. I just had no idea what to do with that knowledge.