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, including Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Ted Turner. In fact, the rate of mood disorders is probably positively not negatively correlated with those character traits that we traditionally think of as desirable or “strong”. It is noteworthy that 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].
