I'm not quite sure how to respond to this, so I apologies in advance if it comes off wrong. I would say it's not about trying to "feel better", you can't just

I'm not quite sure how to respond to this, so I apologies in advance if it comes off wrong. I would say it's not about trying to "feel better", you can't just force yourself to not feel depressed, the brain is too complex for that. There are, however, many rigorously proven methods for tackling depression that can work in replacement of or in addition to medications. The one I think has the most merit is mindfulness based cognitive behavioral therapy. The idea is to build up a new set of habits, coping skills, and behavior patterns that let you life your life without getting sucked into depression. Depression is vastly more complex than simply "a flaw in brain chemistry", that's very reductive reasoning but it's been a relatively successful one for the psychiatrist business and pharmaceutical industry. That brain chemistry is as much a symptom as it is a cause though. And with enough work it's possible to make yourself more resilient to potentially depressing circumstances and thoughts. It's possible to train yourself to recognize and change the constantly running background narrative of negative self-talk that gets you down, the rumination, the trains of thought that seem so unavoidable, and so on. And then on top of that to build better habits, to tackle your problems, that you're in control of, and prevent them from growing out of control, to regularly exercise, etc. Of course, it can be difficult if not near impossible to do all that, or, really, anything whatsoever, if you're deeply depressed. Which is why for many people it's necessary to begin anti-depressants before starting therapy, making behavioral/cognitive changes, etc. The problem the parent poster is talking about is the tendency today to just shove people into the top of the process and call that done. It's now expected that most people who have experienced major depression should just take anti-depressants for their entire life and that's the "cure" for their problems. With only a token concern for building up the skills, habits, and coping mechanisms that people actually need. You see the same thing with a lot of other things like ADHD or anxiety, with a tendency to look for the chemical answer first and foremost and call that good enough.