Depression and Mental Illness

I would say NO.

*woohoo!*  I get to be the nerd who says, “FIRST!”   

Anyway, it can be a chemical imbalance in the brain. 
It can be caused by situations that are either immensely stressful or have broken the person down over a long period of time. 
I just don’t see it as a mental illness.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/what-is-depression-if-not-a-mental-illness/all/1/

That link says it’s a mental disorder.  Which means it’s out of the ordinary.  It isn’t a disease because there doesn’t mean there is something wrong with your brain necessarily.

So I guess the answer technically could be yes.  Since an illness can be cured & depression can also be curable.  Still, I don’t like to label it that way.  It sounds too harsh & negative.