I'm learning more and more about this by talking to my wife's doctors, and you're right in the sense that there are some forms of depression that can be cured,

I'm learning more and more about this by talking to my wife's doctors, and you're right in the sense that there are some forms of depression that can be cured, but sadly not all. I'm broadly generalizing here, but depression caused by a physical condition (e.g. an autoimmune deficiency) can typically be cured by attacking the underlying cause, but depression caused by a psychiatric condition is much harder to "cure" in the traditional sense and instead can be managed via modern pharmaceuticals. Now, those drugs come with some strings attached, but if they help a patient get out of the bed and function in the morning (as they do with my wife) then that's a net positive, but we're realistic about the fact this is likely a life-long battle that will require constant work to stay on top of.