Only you can know if you're ready for dating. Personally, I wish I had gotten out more and dated when I was depressed. I tend to isolate myself so much when I'm depressed and that just makes it worse. I spent way too much time alone.

I'm the sort of person that when I'm depressed, I still like myself. I have quite high self-esteem... all the time. I may hate my life when I'm depressed, and I may get angry with myself for not being able to pull myself out of the depression or do all the things I THINK I should do and I will get mad at myself for being a failure in that, but I still like myself a lot -- and I'm always rooting for ME. I guess I have a big ego. I always tell friends and family when I'm depressed that they should never worry about me being suicidal. I can get damn miserable and hopeless, but I always like myself WAY too much to have suicidal thoughts. I'm thankful for that.

So, I'm still mildly depressed right now and I'm interested in dating (I actually have a date Saturday night). I'm not looking for another person to make me happy (because I know that my depression is an internal thing). I just think it will do me good to get out and have some fun... and not fall into the trap of being anti-social and isolated... because that usually leads to my depression getting much, much worse. There's nothing wrong with wanting companionship. I've been very happy during times in my life when I was alone and I've been happy when in a relationship -- same goes for depression. Wanting companionship is not a sign of weakness. It's a natural, human thing... and I think it's a good sign when we actually want to reach out to another person. It means we have some hope for something new... and it means that we like ourselves enough to admit that we deserve to be loved despite our flaws. Just because I get depressed, it doesn't mean I don't deserve to have love in my life... and marriage and children... I deserve those things as much as anyone else and so do you.

That's just my perspective. Good luck to you with whatever you decide to do. You just need to follow you heart, IMO... know your limitations and be reasonable in your expectations. xoxox