Depression.... What do you think?

[Virge]

Hay Eljay Arrr powur is blainkin offenon. Dewya thaink ekould bey the fewses in the fewsbox? Ah hafta ruun tew thu stower and pickusup sum brayd. Whan ah cum back mebee yewenme kin drank us some bairs!

He'll be home in the morning and I'm going to leave this page up on the computer for him to see... hahahahahha!

[LJay]

Bairs, hell! Buhbun!!

[Aike]

My immediate reaction to this question was to say that "no, depression is not a weakness" but, after giving it some thought, I realized one would just get caught up in a vicious circle if one said that. It can be very hard to convince a depressed person that s/he's not weak or a failure, like trying to convince an anorectic that s/he's beautiful just as s/he is. The problem is that when you try to convince your depressed friend that s/he's really a strong person you re-affirm the very need to be strong, just like you re-affirm the need to be beautiful when you tell someone who thinks s/he is ugly that s/he's beautiful just as s/he is. So, as I see it, the real question is not whether depression is a sign of weakness or not. It is rather: Why is weakness a flaw in the first place and why should we feel guilty for being weak?

[Butterfingers]

Depression is not a sign of weakness, that phraseology would point to a character flaw of some kind.
Depression is an illness that makes one susceptible to not living life to their fullest potential, an impaired quality of life because of depression is no different than other diseases and needs to be treated... not endured.