Sober Realists are Depressed

People with mild depression and low self-esteem tend to have views of their prospects more in line with statistics and hindsight, and tend to be sober and analytical about their future. It’s a teling comment on the pervasiveness of unrealistic optimism that the sober realists are often accused of being pessimists. It is, in fact, depressing to be realistic, and indulgence in realism about the future is even considered socially unacceptable. And woe betide and politician who admits that the future might not be better than the past.

— David Gamon & Allen D. Bragdon, Building Mental Muscle</