I think one thing that really hurts people in our field, and why we see so many questions in this particular section of the forums, is that young people conflate discouragement with depression. They go in so Dr. Psych and say, “Im feeling depressed” when they likely faced an unexpected obstacle and really mean, “I’m feeling discouraged. Depressed gets more sympathy, so people go to that quickly.
Have I been discouraged? Absolutely! Have I ever been depressed? No. Now, I’m not saying that NOBODY faces depression either, but I think sadly it is the buzzword that many people use to describe something that is not their ACTUAL situation. However, in our field, that can cause a brand for life.