This is the Facebook status posted by my twelve year old daughter moments ago. She thinks she had a bad day (she might really have a bad day if she keeps saying “sucks” on Facebook). But as family law practitioners we know she doesn’t know from bad days.

Let her come talk to us when she had a judge rule against her, a client scream at her and a big retainer check returned to her account because the husband drained the account before the check could clear.

Don’t worry about Delaney. She’s resilient. She typed that update six minutes ago. She won’t remember that stuff six minutes from now. Especially if we decide to go out for LocoPops.

But what about you? Are you going to bounce back from today? Are you resilient?

Dr. Harry Emmons says “depression is a breakdown of resilience.” Makes sense to me. Sometimes we just can’t take it anymore. Twenty five percent of lawyers suffer from depression – the highest of any profession. Male lawyers commit suicide at twice the rate of other men in America.

Lawyers with Depression is a site created for lawyers with depression by a lawyer with depression.

Dr. Emmons has an extraordinarily well done article, The Resilient Lawyer, on the site. I won’t attempt to summarize it. It’s fairly short and it provides the best explanation of the causes of lawyer depression that I’ve ever read.

Dr. Emmons doesn’t stop with the causes. He also provides some realistic solutions. Great article. Read it. You may be having a good day today, but realistically, this stuff can bring you down.

As I finish writing I can hear Delaney down the hall. She’s moved on from the foot injury and the guitar problem. Now she’s fighting with her brother. Great. Just what I needed after a long day at the office.