This study of Thoreau's often-discussed cycles of spiritual elevation and depression relies on an examination of the writer's published works, journal entries, correspondence, and sketches. The writer's journals show that Thoreau was aware of his 'insanity and sanity' and used wilderness retreats, such as his famed two-year retreat to Walden Pond, to treat and heal himself. Thoreau's natural strategies for managing stress disorders and chronic depression including journal writing and forms of meditation provide an attractive alternative to prescription medication and show how one of America's most influential writers dealt with severe intellectual, social, and moral stress.