Is depression a result of weakness of character?
No. The evidence is overwhelming that depression is a genetic illness.
It is not possible to will oneself out of a major depressive episode.
Many highly functional, brilliant leaders suffered from severe mood disorders:
- Abraham Lincoln,
- Winston Churchill,
- Ted Turner
- mood disorders maybe positively correlated with character traits we traditionally think of as desirable or "strong"
- Meriwether Lewis, a member of the Lewis & Clark expedition, arguably one of the bravest Americans of all time, suffered terrible depression following his return, and ended his life by suicide[1].