Hey, I'm happy you're better without the meds, but I don't see how you can really recommend taking the same course of actions to someone else; some people need the medication, and in all honesty taking meds yourself probably would have cured you a lot sooner than going "cold turkey".
But you seem to be ignoring the idea that people can try other things first. Excersise, change in diet, new things, places, people. All of those things will often cure some simple depression. In my case, I didnt' even have to do a whole lot different. I just simply changed the way I was seeing things. I realized on my own that my fears were often totally irrational, and I got over them.
I'm saying once again, that I don't believe everyone can be cured of depression easily. I'm simply saying that trying some things on your own is always the better route. If you have to go on meds thats fine. At least you tried other things beforehand. The problem is, a lot of people just to to the doctor today, and the doctor just loves writing prescriptions for any ol problem, and the person leaves that office thinking they're just got the solution, when in fact they may have just started themselves down a long road of drugs for many years to come.
The simply fact is, Doctor's don't always have your best interests in mind, and they often just give you the easiet answer first.