You can’t force someone out of misery.

i think some peopel get attached ot their misery and have trouble letting go of it or maybe dont have the inner resources to fight it. like "poor me" syndrome or negative or pessimistic thinkers. its frustrating to see people very depressed as it can be a downer and make one feel helpless to help them. and you are right you cant force anyone out of their psychological condition. sadly lol. i think all we can do really is try to offer some sympathy if we can spare it or empathy or offer support in a helpful manner, tell people what it is that we do to get out of depression ourselves. people supposedly learn by example the best. i personally think depression is all in the mind and we need to use the strength of our minds ot fight it, but then even the strong minded can probably succumb to depression every now and then too. depression sucks. i think the worst thing people can do is throw a pharmaceutical at it but some people do find it helpful. i guess everyone needs to follow their own path and all we can do like you said is try to give them a little nudge in a good direction.