Depression involves a chemical imbalance that is easily remedied with medication.
The real evil of depression is being ashamed of admitting that you may be depressed, or in recognizing that something may be wrong.
Some people have a type of diabetes that destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. No amount of diet or exercise will help. They HAVE to take medication. Same thing with clinical depression. It's not the problems in your life that are "getting you down," it's the chemicals in your brain.
I'm scanning the thread debating whether to read it or not and just wanted to thank both of you for trying to explain this. So tell me: Did the "SSRI's-Are-Satanic!" crowd show up and ruin the discussion or is it a rational thread worth reading?