depression undressed

"Depression cannot be cured, only prevented"
-dr. jane aloysius o'mccorkleschlatt

It was my intention to drop the above one-liner into my next connection of not-ends...but to do so would move my words from being likely misunderstood to almost-certainly misunderstood. So i'll 'splain.
The sentiment cannot be taken as literally true. One person's depression can be functionally "cured", given certain circumstances, those being more or less the concerted effort of approximately ten people who are close at hand on a daily or near-daily basis, filling the life of said person with all the laughter, sex, acceptance, and physical/emotional intimacy they could desire. Beyond that, any attempt to "sort out" the person's psychological problems will generally run counter to the group's goal.
Understand what i am saying. I am calling out the psychotherapeutic community, and labeling them little more than charlatans (certain nobler intents notwithstanding). Our understanding of basic human nature is still so nascent that the bulk of our psychiatric paradigm is bogged down in ignorance and rattle-shaking. Their definition of "normal" is little more than a reflection of our society's mores. A person is "healthy" when their thoughts and actions are those of a good citizen, circa now.
I challenge us all to become used to the idea that depression is not an aberration, but the norm. Given the level of physical and emotional isolation the average person experiences, combined with the levels of fear we all live with on a daily basis, it is much more fascinating when someone shows NO signs of depression. It is those people who are more worthy of study, in terms of coping mechanisms and sublimated stress. If our understanding of human psychology is to move forward, those who have obvious trouble holding it all together must come to be viewed as the norm.
The usefulness of jane's quote is in deflecting the well-intended efforts of any of us (professional or amateur) to "fix" someone we perceive as depressed. Advice-giving is of NO use. Even when we're broken (and know it), this society's focus on self-reliance will prevent most of us from responding well to being "fixed". There are of course exceptions...in our miseries, many do give control of our lives to a "higher power". Religion or similar cults, sports teams, and celebrity fan clubs come to mind. The more literal among us skip all that and go straight to painkiller addiction. But on the personal level, deep down most of us will be offended at the thought of someone "figuring out" our lives better than ourselves. And even if we agree with the advice, even if it has merit, it still likely won't address the real roots of depression.
Put another way, the more you display signs of clinical depression, the healthier your response to this world.
Pretty impressive irony.
So save your advice. Give hugs instead, especially to those who don't want them. And let's start figuring out how to raise our children so they don't become like us.