Depression like other mental disorders has a stigma. People are scared to admit to it or seek help because they don't want to be seen as weak.
It's a vicious cycle because without some form of treatment it just gets worse.
Then people like OP open up and are given TERRIBLE advice. Smoking weed can make depression even worse and also lead to anxiety.
People saying man up makes the person feel weak or delude themselves into thinking they can beat it with will power.
Thing is depression literally rewires the way your brain processes information.
Most people don't know that or care to know. A depressed brain literally filters your days information just to re-enforce the depression. They could hear 99 compliments in a day and 1 insult and the ONLY thing they will remember is the insult. It's not the persons fault. They arent being negative, their brain is doing it to them.
Often times the people too scared to talk about it in real life will try to online. So posters making rude comments need to chill. Depressed people are basically walking dynamite and one heartless comment cantrigger can cause them to harm themself.
The only thing I've personally seen that worked was :
Specific therapy targeted at mood regulation and distress control. People with depression can't cope with things the way 'normal' people can and those little skills help them.
MEDICATION: if a persons chemical imbalance is truly off, something must be administered to alter it.
Various serotonin boosting activities such as exercise.
Vitamin B3 and fish oil is okay too for additional supplementation.
Good diet and better sleep. never underestimate the power of sleeping at the same time everyday for 7-10 hours. People with depression tend to over or under sleep, it's crucial they follow a strict sleeping cycle.
These things will help and in some cases relieve the symptoms but as you said when mental illness becomes apparent it never fully 'goes away'.
A person can be fine for some years then one day begin slipping away again...,,,for many it's a life long battle.