Having suffered from clinical depression for most of my life and been hospitalised for it I'd just like to add to this. Depression IS NOT a concrete manifestation of sin - Gargoyle you are quoting scripture to suit your own ends. My own experience with depression stems mainly from my early teenage years which I spent mainly looking after a terminally ill patient in my own home (I am an only child I should point out perhaps and my father worked extrememly long hours) - perhaps Gargoyle you can tell me whether myself or my mother were the sinners there? Serious or Clinical depression is a frightening, disorienting thing - Louis MacNiece put it well in one line, "Never feel safe again". I will attempt to give people a summation of my own experience which is this - imagine waking up every day thinking you were a c**t (apologies for the swearing, I merely use the word to express the strength of feeling behind serious depression) and utterly useless or worthless.

Gargoyle, you are misinterperting a subtle and valid argument that depression can be and is often wasteful of our true potential into a harsh, bitter assault on people already down on the ground.

Bob, take no notice, just take everything one day at a time - bit by bit and prepare for relapses and bad moments if neccesary. Everyone who suffers from it has to find their own accomodation eventually with clinical depression.

Marcus