> I read an article once (wish I could find it) that one advantage of mild depression was as sort a "call for help and support" from other embers of a close-kni

> I read an article once (wish I could find it) that one advantage of mild depression was as sort a "call for help and support" from other embers of a close-knit social group, although I'm not sure how well-founded the claim was. In the same vein I also read something about how depression helps in momentarily retiring from the group to be perceived as a non-threat and the rumination is the symptom of a brain dedicating resources to finding solutions to a problem. Pop psychology most likely I suppose.