Sorry to join late--but I had to just thank Bernard for his comments above--I have saved them, because they really are simple, direct, and to the point--

I have mentioned this before, in other depression threads, so please forgive if it is wearing thin, but in the last few years, as scanning technology has made it possible to examine the brain while it is working, there are indications that depression may be connected to brain damage that has likely resulted from undetected traumas of one sort or another.

This means that depression, instead of being caused by family problems or cloudy days, or such things, is the result of physical damage to the brain. Depression is a physical disability. Not that this should be a big surprise--Most other "Physical" handicaps are really the result of one or another sort of damage to the central nervous system(the results of stroke, for instance, can include motor impairment and speech impairment).

Just like other physical handicaps, depression requires coping strategies, especially support from people who understand it, which really amounts to the others who suffer from it.

It is as absurd to tell a person who is trying to cope with depresssion symptoms to "cheer up" and get an "attitude adjustment", as it is to tell old Uncle Roy to throw away his walker and dance.