Is this possible?

Interesting points Rose. I think there is quite a bit of truth to your point of view. At the same time, I have empathy for people who want someone to fix them...to tell them it's not their fault etc. When you are in hell, you naturally want comfort and a guide to help you to leave as quickly as possible, right? I've been in hell more than once. Sounds like you have too Rose. And yes, I agree, there is no quick-fix for these problems and the sufferer needs to be in the driving seat for their own life....building a life of intention. Though I wonder if not everyone has the brain chemistry to open them up to that first step? What do you think?

Have you heard the theory that ~70% of depression is self-created whereas ~30% is true pathology for which nothing seems to help? I wonder what you think of that? I heard a yogi say that. Beyond that, many MDs now have enough research to suggest that most doctor visits are due to illnesses caused by stress. I think these are important ideas though on the surface, without further exploration, some people may find them offensive.

One thing which strikes me about the U.S. in particular is that there are so many people taking meds for mood that something doesn't seem quite right. What I mean is, surely as a species we didn't evolve such that most of us biologically require medication in order to get up, function, and sleep each day/night? Sometimes I wonder if the lens is pointed in the wrong direction? Just some thoughts of mine. I honestly felt lost for a very long time...I was diagnosed at a young age and told I had the genetic imbalance etc. Drugs never worked and I gave up. So then I felt broken and hopeless. At some point, I decided on my own to step outside of the medical model and start researching other approaches such as gratitude and mindfulness and meditation. These help me a great deal. Though I still have plenty of work to do on building the life I want. It's gotten better but I have not gone as far as I'd like. I have to just chip away at it.

The thing is that no MD can know for sure how much of a person's mental distress is "genetically" driven a d how much is due to the person having an approach to life that is maladaptive. My point is that it isn't necessary to figure all that out. Plus, we don't have the ability to do so. And neither do our doctors. So we work on all of it. We try out meds and see if they help. But we also structure our time according to some kind of a plan. We can lie in bed and watch life get crappier and crappier. Or we can get up and do what we really don't feel like doing.

Think I'll go to bed . . . and set an alarm to get up in the morning .