Well, I've been depressed from as far back as age 10 or so. I had years and years of pills, doctors, mental hospitals and misdiagnosis'. Nothing helped at all. I'm 22 now and don't consider myself depressed any more. As for how I overcame it, I think time alone did it. I just grew sick of living with a shadow over my head. I stopped all my meds when I was about 17/18 and stopped going to doctors, and found myself much less depressed, eventually to the point where I wasn't at all.

I still get "depressed" from time to time, as I don't have any friends, though that doesn't bother me much. To be honest, what I think helped me the most was marijuana. I tried drinking but in the long run you just feel like crap mentally and physically. But with weed you have zero side effects and it helps you really helps take the edge off when I need it. I wouldn't suggest drinking. I had a father who drank no less than 10 beers a night, every night, for probably 20 years straight. It completely destroyed our family. Definitely not something you want when you have kids.