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He touches on it in that article, but essentially, depression can take shape from different origins-organic, or environmental.
As someone who suffered from depression caused by environmental circumstances and not from any chemical imbalance or neurological malfunction, I don't think it's possible to totally eradicate the malady from society. It takes way too many forms, causes a vast variety of physical ailments and can have varying degrees of incapacitation to the ones who suffer from it. It took several months, several physical illnesses and 3 doctors to diagnose me, then another 6 months of intense therapy. My particular type manifested itself into 'psychosomatic illness', in which the mind takes control of the body's immunity responses. Other depressive illnesses include anorexia, bulimia, self mutilation and alcohol or drug addiction. Seems to me that's an awful lot of irradication to attempt.
It'd be wonderful to say that depression should be and can be made the way of smallpox. On the other hand, those of us who lived through it and got help have just a tad more knowledge of what our moods mean, what might happen should we let things go and how to work on avoiding the downward spiral.
Does it feed creativity? Yes, it does, in a small way, but only if we know to use our creativity to rise above it. Does it enhance creativity? No, it can, in fact stifle it, as we slowly draw up the walls around us to hide from the experiences of life.
I live by the old adage, what does not kill me makes me stronger. And I ain't dead yet!
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