Depression in HP characters?

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 182276

> Shelley:
> I think Neville might have been a little depressed- depressed 
people don't 
> often stand up for himself, and it's only later in the series that 
he seems 
> to shrug it off, gain some confidence and take the initiative to 
be the 
> leader. The answer there? Friends believing in him and encouraging 
him to 
> grow as a person.

Magpie:
I don't know...I think it's widening the definition of depression 
too much to apply it to Neville for being an 11-year-old who doesn't 
stand up to himself aggressively. He seems like a perfectly normal 
kid who's on the timid side and just got a realistic view of his 
situation. I would have acted the same as Neville most of the time, 
and I've (thankfully) never suffered from depression. Especially 
since Neville actually does stand up for himself and his friends 
just fine even in PS/SS. He jumps on Crabbe and Goyle just because 
Ron and Draco are fighting and then he stands up to the Trio. I 
would just make a distinction between a person having a normal 
reaction to events in their life that are upsetting and suffering 
from depression. I know one can lead to the other, but Neville 
doesn't seem to have a depressive personality at all to me--on the 
contrary, he seems to deal with stress in a pretty healthy way. He's 
been told he's worth less than he is and I think that's what he gets 
over, realizing that these things aren't true. It's not a chemical 
problem that makes him feel worthless.

I wouldn't say Hagrid has suffered from it either. He's sensitive to 
criticism, imo, not depressed, and eventually gets over feeling hurt 
and upset about things that happened. The fact that his friends 
coming to his door and telling him he's being selfish shows that he 
isn't depressed. Depression is a chemical imbalance that can't be 
cured by pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps or listening to 
your friends tell you it's okay. 

-m