I don't know how anyone read that out of gtrplyr's words.

It seems like there is some serious cognitive distortion going on in the posting in this thread. It was only supposed to be a helpful positive comment?

Although, I disagree with what the psychiatrist friend says - a friend of mine who is also a psyc spent a long time persuading me that just because I was able to function and do well at work, it did not mean that I was any less sick than a lot of other people.

His words were "Some of the most depressed and ill people I have ever seen have also been some of the successful in many other aspects of their lives".

I take from that, that someone who can't function day to day isn't necessarily any more ill than someone who does, but blocks their demons enough to go through the motions. Basically a stronger personality or stronger willpower perhaps.