See, here's the thing about depression.

	See, here's the thing about depression.

	Depression is like nature. You can try to control it and succeed
	temporarily. You can try to ignore it, but it won't last. You can b
	as happy as can be for longer than you can remember, and you'll be
	lulled into a false sense of being over it or "cured". You're
	not. Depression will always strike again, and it will always, alway
	win.

	Just like nature. We can put up dams, levees, and other such
	structures to try and control nature. In the end, though, nature wi
	always be stronger and will break down all barriers. Not matter how
	stong you make them, nature will be stronger. This is just a fact,
	something we've seem time and time again.

	I believe the cause is similar between the two as well. Any structu
	we build will be imperfect in someway, and even if they were perfec
	they will erode and deteriorate. This is fact. It's not that nature
	gets stronger; it's that our defences weaken. It is the same with
	depression. It is always there, eroding you down, until, eventually
	and inevitably, you break.

	So, our we sealed in our fate? Well, yeah, actually. However, that
	doesn't mean there's nothing we can do. Just because we will break,
	doesn't mean we shouldn't try to prolong it (however, not at the ri
	of "holding it in", which is far more damaging). We should keep doi
	what we're doing becasue sometimes just keeping things at bay is th
	best we've got, so we may as well do it as best we can.

	There's a more important matter that we can handle, though. Damage
	control. After nature destroys towns, the wreckage has to be
	controlled and rebuilt. We're no different. Our depression affects
	more than just us, and while there's usualy not much we can do abou
	it at the time, we can certainly do our best to clean up our messes
	when the storm passes. In the best case, we have folks to help us
	through not only the clean up but also the storm itself. In the wor
	case, we have no one. Personally, I find myself fortunate enough to
	in the former situation. I weep for those in the latter.

	Postscript: When I talk about depression, I mean clinical, chemical
	depression. The kind you get diagnosed with for the rest of your
	life. The kind that gets inherited and passed on. The kind where th
	doctors try to put you on drugs, and they might help a little bit f
	a little while, but in the end are a futile effort. The kind that o
	takes one slip to fall back into, but takes every ounce of effort t
	get out of, leaving so little of you left that sometimes you wonder
	it was even worth the effort. (It is, of course.) So before any of
	try to start on a "it's just depression; get over it" argument, tur
	around, leave, and most importantly, count your blessings and thank
	whatever god(s) you might believe in that you don't have this kind
	depression.

	Because it sucks.