This is so true ... but also, it's tricky. Because just like any illness or injury, there IS a self-care component to depression. Just as a knee replacement will only get you part of the way there without physical therapy, medications can lift symptoms, but they don't totally fix everything. (And then there's the issue of finding the right meds for you; brain drugs are tricky that way.) Depression LIES. It tells you not only will you never feel better, but there is nothing you can do to make yourself feel better. But the reality is that the right medication, meditation, exercise, eating healthy, sunshine, and healthy relationships can make a huge difference in how we feel.
I have been depressed before, not severely, but I have suffered from what's called dysthymia. I was fortunate in that I don't think there's much of a genetic or chemical component to mine. It was more situational, and since I was living with someone who had it much worse, and ALSO since I am female and therefore socialized to consider others' health before mine, I didn't even realize it. At the very worst I did have fleeting suicidal ideation, and that is part of what shocked me into getting therapy, which helped immensely.
I feel it sometimes sneaking back up on me when I'm not being true to myself or when I am ignoring any of my needs, but again, I count myself very lucky in that I am not medication-dependent. (I don't think there's anything at all wrong with taking antidepressants or anti-anxiety meds, but I know it can be a struggle to find the right ones ... and my one pill a day for ADD is about all I can manage. Okay, FINE, I forget it about half the time and end up having to self-medicate with pots and pots of coffee.
)
I guess what I mainly want to say is that for any of you struggling with a mental illness, I see how hard it is, and I think you're very brave to keep fighting, and I really hope you remember that in fact, depression does lie. It wants you to believe that there is no way things can get better, but that's not true. Things can get better.