Can depression be cured or only controlled? Why? How?

Please share from you personal experiences in dealing with depression for yourself and others around you. If you believe depression can not be cured please state why you believe that. If you believe it is curable, please state why you believe it can be cured, and how it can be cured.

Being cured of depression can be a long term battle often, but not always. Some people are slowly healing their entire life, others have a small period of depression and get better for no apparent reason.

I think chemical imbalance is very rare, so I have faith that with enough support from friends, family and therapists, and a lot of hard work, people can usually get much better with dealing with their depression.

I have had depression for years but it has been slowly improving, due to life experience and wisdom (well some lol), and also by seeing therapists and learning off friends and family. I have also read books and learnt off websites occasionally. So I have had help from a lot of different sources.

I have tried:
1) CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) - it helped a bit
2) Mindfulness - helped a lot
3) Yoga - helped relax me and helped release emotions
4) Therapy - helped me a bit
5) People's advice - helped a bit
6) Medication - was awful and made me feel worse (but it works for some people).
7) Healthier diet - helped a fair bit
8) Giving up alcohol and caffeine - helped a fair bit
9) Learning to be more positive - helped a bit
10) Massages - helped relax and release trapped emotion
11) Exercise - helps relax and destresses
12) Learn not to blame other people or things for my problems - helped a fair bit
13) Focus on solutions rather than on problems - helped a fair bit.
14) Occasionally use helplines when I'm emotionally very distressed.

The list is probably bigger than that but as you can see everything helps a little, I have slowly changed my life. If each thing above helps by say 5% then that would mean an increase of 70% lol. So as you can see every small thing you change can add up to helping you feel much better.

If you start thinking you can't be cured, then you will stop trying and therefore won't be cured! So this can be a self fulfilling prophecy!

It can be both 'cured' or controlled. However, most people who have been clinically depressed may have another episode later on in life. There are 2 ways to deal with depression. One is with medication (anti depressants) which work sometimes. However, sometimes you don't get the "right" medication the first time, and will have to go through months of trial and error to find the correct one for you(ie, Prozac instead of Paxil, etc)
The other way to deal with it is with change of diet, exercise, redirection of negative and obsessive thoughts and positive thinking and to occupy your time with hobbies and interest of enjoyment. I've used those methods and it's helped me have a better quality of life and I haven't had an episode in quite some time.
Other people I know have used medications and they loved it and it totally worked. So, it really just depends on the person but I believe it can be 'cured' most of the time.

um...it all depends what CAUSED the depression. Clinical depression/Chemical imbalances CAN be cured with medication, counciling and time. however, depression caused by stress (AKA Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]) cannot REALLY be cured.

I had a chemical imbalance and i was cured within 2 years. however, i have a friend (who shall remain anonymous) who was raped when she was 13, she's 20 now and she still has PTSD.

it all depends on the situation. can you be more specific?

Depression is a result of certain thought processes and emotions. Change those and depression can be cured.

The notion of a chemical imbalance is a red herring. It was invented by the drug companies to sell their ineffective drugs.

I think that it depends on where the depression originated from in the individual case. If it comes from a disease (like mine with multiple sclerosis) then it can only be controlled not cured. If your depression comes from a specific event and counseling and medical intervention is combined to help the problem then perhaps a cure can be achieved.

I don't think it's so much curing as coping. You learn to overcome it, beat it with medication and lifestyle choices, and the combination of those things enables you to live day to day as if you were just as stable and mentally healthy as the next guy.
It can't be cured, because it never really goes away. You could take pills for 20 years, but if you stopped taking them, a week later you could be mentally unstable again.

if you are depressed do to a chemical in balance then i believe it can only be treated and you can live a successful life on meds if you are depressed do to an event in your life like a death or divorce then i beileve you can with counciling get through it it may be hard it may be rough and may take years but you can get through it

The question is too simplistic because it depends on the type of depressive disorder involved and whether it is situational based (such as in grief).