[daveT]

Reading this thread suggests that the doctors take you off of it after one year. As Veracious Reader's post suggests, you do not understand who you are when you are depressed. It takes pills to be able to bring yourself back and then you will be able to see yourself, the triggers, and the problems that caused depression. Certain mental conditions are due to poor chemical balances in your brain. These conditions, no matter how hard you try to prevent them, will manifest later in life even though there are no good reasons for them. Schizophrenia, bipolarity, anxiety, and severe depression are some of those conditions. Counter to your post, psychotherapy works the exact opposite as you think. There is a reason that mental illnesses run in families: they are genetic.