What makes people harder than seeing that beautiful depressed person who needs to be swept off their feet?

It's a narcissistic reaction, my friend. And it's not exactly a gender-neutral phenomenon, either. Men (usually men) have this idea because it makes them feel less shitty about themselves, lets them actually play hero for a day, lets them be not only physically but also emotionally stronger than their partner, feeding their ego. Of course, depressed people make for poor company, no matter how gorgeous or handsome their faces may be, and these scenarios always end in either heartbreak, emotional exhaustion, manipulation for ulterior motives, or a combination thereof. For the depressed, insecure, and otherwise mentally unwell man or woman, I find that solitude is the only answer. Even friends get tired of hearing your shit and expect you to have picked yourself up by your bootstraps right now.

Don't blame the friends that don't seem to care deeply enough to truly understand and help you, whom you may wish you could talk to about so much more. Don't blame the men described above (okay, maybe blame the predatory and manipulative sleazebags :). Everyone just wants to be happy. And this is what drives human society.

The root of all evil is the root of all good: man's desire to find happiness, fulfillment. It's just a travesty that we look for it in such stupid, vain places and fail to connect with each other along the way, despite the fact that we're on the same journey. Maybe if we did that we might actually find what we have been cursed to eternally search for.