Yes, I've been both at your end, Spirit Reborn, and now I help others. If you want to PM me I'll be glad to discuss it with you. There are many reasons for depression. Certainly you aren't alone and the fact is when you are depressed you feel so alone. It truly is healing just to know others have experienced what you have experienced because you then realize other people understand as your last post indicates.

Hey guys... This site contains a lot of great information on depression and other disorders. I usually give my clients the information sheet 'overview of depression' on the page I linked when we talk about what depression is and how it's caused etc. The other info sheets are also really well done and useful though as well, esp if you have fairly low level depression and are still able to motivate yourself to change things.

You're definitely right that one of the most valuable things is realising how normal it is to experience depression and how many people, irrespective of how much money they have or how old they are or how good their jobs are, suffer from depression. I don't have personal experience of depression (i.e. suffered it myself) but I have the experience of seeing clients with it and it really can be such a debilitating disorder. One of the best things you can do is give yourself permission to be 'sick' - that doesn't mean wallowing in the depression and thinking that you have an excuse to do nothing and make no attempts to get well, but acknowledging that there's something legitimately wrong and there's no shame or weakness associated with being depressed.