"Brainwashing people with unrealistic expectations is clearly a recipe for disaster."
just following the direction of this thread there seems to be a view that something has to happen say some major disappointment has to happen first before the chemical imbalance occurs
perhaps being buddhist may prevent depression from occurring
at the root of buddhism people learn to not expect things and live in the now
perhaps not expecting a job, a house, a car, a wife or husband, children, friends and even health might be the solution
I gain a lot of pleasure from eating
but had a friend who even denied himself of that
he would only eat boiled vegies and rice
I thought he was going to live forever but recently he had a heart attack
anyway that is off the track
prevention is better than cure
If so assuming something offsets depression then not have expectations must be one of the best ways of preventing depression
