Welcome here rebel.
One huge problem that people suffering depression have is that friends and relatives don't understand the illness (but they think they do) and are unwilling to learn about it or to learn the things to do to help and to be supportive. For some I think it is because of fear or stigma and for others just stubborness.
It is always nice to hear about people who want to learn more about the illness in order to understand and possibly help.
There are a lot of people here who can answer questions, and there are also a lot of resources available on the web, a lot of them are listed on the homepage of this website. There are also many books available, and local support groups also usually welcome friends who want to learn (you should check with the specific support groups first).
I wrote a paper a while ago to help people understand depression, I have it available at
-- The world is what we make of it --
-- Dave
-- <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.idexter.com>http://www.idexter.com</A>
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-- The world is what we make of it --
-- Dave
--
www.idexter.com