The Tale of the Worn-Out Bootstraps

So, the other night, I was arguing with this guy about depression.

I was saying that it isn't always a matter of attitude, that it is in fact, a real illness and often requires more than just an attitude adjustment.

But, he's one of those guys that thinks you can just think yourself out of depression. That it's not a real illness. That you should just cheer up. That you should "just pull yourself up by your bootstraps."

However, now I'm noticing that he might be having trouble supporting his own argument.

He tried to pull himself up by his bootstraps, but he just pulled them right off and fell down.