I thought this was a very interesting documentary. Initially I was slightly disappointed at the video diary, and was hoping it wouldn't just be AC saying how miserable he was.
He talked to experts and explored various ideas about depression and related means for helping, including reducing self-blame through interactive MRI, use of psychedelic drugs, electrical stimulation of the brain, relationship between the immune system, inflammation and depression. He was very reluctant to stop taking drugs, but the final discussion in the programme was with someone who explained that depression was partly genetic, but mainly environmental. In that you may have a genetic predisposition to depression, but that it is environmental factors that switch it on, and showed an analogy using a jar, which AC found most compelling, and so did I.
If you want a good explanation of the jar, watch the programme, but as I understood it, we all have a jar and it contains our genetic predisposition for depression (however great of small that may be). Life adds various environmental triggers for depression and the jar fills up with these until it is full and depression is triggered. You cannot change the size of the jar or what's in it but you can create more space by adding rings to the neck of the jar, the rings are good things like self-care, sleep, exercise, diet, things that make us feel good etc.
I don't think my description has done it justice, but I found it a very powerful analogy. In particular AC saw clearly how his hard-drinking, non-eating party lifestyle must have played a huge part in triggering his own depression.
I was interested in learning more about the jar analogy and people who use it in practice.