Not the go outside part but exercise helps a lot. Most people like to ignore the part where a lot of people with depression work three jobs and dont have time/money for a gym
Also, telling a depressed person their answer is to exercise is like telling a homeless person that they just need to get a job. The not having a home prevents the getting a job. If they had the ability to find a job, they wouldn’t be homeless (except obviously the people who don’t make enough from their job to support themselves, but that’s a whole different issue that shouldn’t exist).
So even if someone does have the time, getting the depression under control may be necessary before the exercise seems like a reasonable possibility.
Dealing with a client at work who is going through this. Severely depressed, suicidal tendencies, will not exercise despite knowing it has helped him in the past. He knows what he needs to do, but we also know damn well that he’s going to go straight up to his room and play video games all day.
Motivating is extremely difficult when it comes to severe depression. You can’t just point out what they need to do. Doing so will likely just deepen their depression because they already know. Getting people to understand that not every brain works the same or responds to the same kind of reinforcements is incredibly frustrating.
Exercise can help a lot depending on the source of the depression. My walking fast for an hour a day only helped a little (don’t worry, I’m better now).
Sunlight is proven to improve health indicators and have a positive impact on depressive traits.
It alone won’t cure you.
However if someone is drowning because they’re weighed down by wet clothing you may not save them by removing the weighted hoodie they’re wearing but you will have helped them.
There is no one cure for depression but almost ALL of the suggestions actually work in small incremental ways.
One of the hardest parts about escaping depression is making the deliberate decision to compel yourself to make the small incremental changes that will help remove the weighted wet clothing that is drowning you. You may not be out of the sea but your ability to not drown will be much improved.
Sunlight + Sleep + Exercise are quite literally the best tools you can enact on your own in an effort to combat depression. They are not fixes.
As someone who struggles with chronic illness and depression, I believe you’re right.
I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve spent a lot of time with them learning about depression and how to live with it. It’s all about incremental change. When I realize I’m slipping back into a depressive funk, I have to figure out what I did to dig this hole and start addressing that to get myself out. It’s a matter of days or weeks. I’m not special. If I was special, I wouldn’t get depressed. I just found what works for me through trial and error.
On the flip side, I have a friend who has been mired in depression for years now. He doesn’t try to change his behavior. He has an inconsistent sleep schedule, rarely goes outside his house, eats poorly, doesn’t exercise, plays video games 12+ hours most days, and, what I’d say is most important of all, won’t see a therapist to deal with his current and early childhood issues. He seems to think that playing more video games, sleeping more, and avoiding any and all unpleasantness will make him better.
I’ve run into a few people like this and they seem to reflexively write off helpful advice for incremental change. You suggest something like starting out with a 5 minute walk, once a day, just to establish a healthy habit. The response? “A five minute walk isn’t going to cure my depression”. No shit, no one suggested it would. It’s just a start to managing it.
Yeah the thing that is so hard is that none of the individual actions feel successful. But overtime they pay off. You have to build a guest house for happiness and keep it clean. So the next time he shows up, maybe he’ll stay awhile.
As someone who spends 10+hr a day working outside I can assure you that being outside and doing physical activity does very little to aid my depression.
mhm… and what if you just had a kid and moved away from helping family to a country which thinks that paid medical leave or reasonable parental leave are luxuries not worth having? have you ever tried to get more than 3h of sleep in a row while taking care of a newborn? good luck going for a run after that! if it also happens to be a winter you may need to wait until spring for that sunlight too. good that we at least have parental groups to socialize… unless you are stay at home dad that is, cause trying to talk about restarting your career after the break might not sit well in a group that mostly connects on how their childbirth went…
You’re in the “blame everything else” stage, you have to get to the part where you compel yourself to do these things despite that.
I went through depression before and I got out successfully. I know where I am and I know what I need to do to get out. I recognise that the biggest problem is self-delusion and all the cognitive biases that make me feel miserable and powerless… there is also a difference between subjective and objective reality.
I also tried a few dead ends on my journey and I can confidently tell you that the thing you wrote above is not only not helpful, but can be harmful to people that are in a bad place and cannot see through it. People that don’t know any better and spew bullshit like this (or worse, drank their own kool aid) are one of the reasons why it is so hard to get better in a world we have… so cool T-shirt bro, have a nice day!
My dude I hope you get the help you need.
Never mind the “thanks I’m cured” vibes, but mild exercise does improve mental health a lot. Going outside for a stroll in nature is great. I know it’s still difficult when your brain just wants you to curl up into a ball all day, but the idea isn’t bad.
If you’re prone to spiraling into negative thoughts when left along to think, listen to music or something. Without it I found that immediately during and after exercise I felt worse which outweighed any benefit.
One of my coworkers has been doing daily hikes with a friend who moved across the country. Every morning one will shoot the other a text when they get up, then call when they start their walk. It’s both a good way to stay close with a good friend but also helps both maintain a healthy habit
just because on one end some people might think depression is easy to get over doesn’t mean you have stand on the other end pretending nothing ever helps mental health.
- Get off doomscrolling
- get out
- drink enough
- get fucked (by that I mean due to exhaustion because you did some sports or whatever)
- Less sugar
Don’t do all at once. But stop doomscrolling. Don’t let the company algorithm tell you what’s good for you.
Yeah doomscrolling is single worst thing you can do to yourself online
Unsubscribe from any doomer themed stuff, now. Watch your mental health recovers in real time over next few days.
And I mean any. Boring dystopias, politics, all this horseshit that brings zero value into life
Also take showers when you feel like it, not when it’s appropriate. Well, at least put some water on your face and make your feet wet, if shower is not an option.
(At least that helps me personally.)
The “less sugar” advice is good.
The physical exhaustion advice is good.
But frankly all this seems connected to that cluster of autism\depression\ADHD or something. Getting more dopamine, reducing prolactin, reducing bodily disregulation, something like that.
I can totally agree with the showers! If I’m too tired for a shower I also just sponge-clean my armpits and stuff just to feel cleaner.
Shouldn’t there be some Cheeto dust on the fingers?
Aww chitch 😭
Ok, but have you?
It really is that simple. But simple doesn’t make it easy.
Simple stuff is often the hardest to succeed in. Sure, you can do it, but can you do it well? Repeatedly? Over a long period of time?
Doesn’t sound so simple anymore. But that’s because the simplicity is a starting point. You build on it, make a foundation you can depend on and fall back to when things go wrong.
Going outside or exercising are simple things, but make no mistake, they’re also a lifestyle. They become a part of who you are, something to cherish, protect and develop that you dedicate a part of each day to. And that’s not an easy thing to do. But once you do it, you’ll know it was worth the hard work.
Also, exercise has been shown to help with mild to moderate depression symptoms. It is not a cure as some would make you believe. But it certainly does help, and help quite a bit it can.
Is this how I find out I was wrong when I thought my depression wasn’t that bad?
Can they really be beneficial? Sure.
Are they actually a magic wand against genuine mental illness? No.
What people don’t get is that it is just using your body’s naturally produced feel good chemicals - endorphins - to make you feel better. It is no different than relying on alcohol or drugs, legal or illegal, to treat your symptoms. You still have to do the hard work to try to cure or lessen your mental illness.
There are people who get “dependent” on exercise, but in a general sense it’s a hell of a lot better than drugs. Also, while dopamine is a big part of it, you also feel better because you’re healthier, and it likely helps with regulation as well.
But yeah, not magic. You still almost always at minimum need therapy and some sort of guided exercises or meditation if you don’t need chemical treatment.
Hey look, it worked!
If you’re gonna be depressed might as well be jacked
Tried that a long time ago. Didnt do jack
I know it does help. I plan on improving my health and fitness this year. I just gotta figure out how to get started.
What worked for me was starting out slow, but making sure being consistent was my priority. I forced myself to go on short walks at least 3x a week and stuck to it. It kind of grew on its own from there.
That is good advice, I will do that.
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I mean… it somewhat works? It won’t fix all your issues, but you will feel better, and it’s a good first part to get out of the depression. Although, I guess most people won’t be able to do fight depression without some prescribed medication.
Speaking from my experience I mostly defeated my depression just by myself, even though I still feel depressed from time to time. But it is also a part of my character to not seek help from others, because in my childhood and in later years, no one really helped me in any major way, so I just learned to force getting myself into be better shape, because at some time in my life it felt like the only rational thing to do.
Wow this really worked. Thanks everyone, I’m cured!
Exercise doesn’t help, obviously, everyone knows that, but have you tried smiling? At least a little?
