CMV: Depression CAN be helped by things like fresh air and exercise. Telling people otherwise might even be damaging.

To start with, I’m saying it CAN be helped, not with everyone every time but some people some times. Depression is absolutely a chemical imbalance in the brain and in some cases medication is the only way to go just like any other physical illness or injury.

With that being said, as far as I’m aware your lifestyle can cause depression. If you have a life where you get no joy, you don’t feel loved or fulfilled this can lead to depression. If that is the case then the takeaway here is that your outside world can change your brain at a chemical level.

And so, if it’s true that the outside world can change your brain for the worse, does it not also make sense that it can change for the better? I’d hate to live in a world where my lifestyle can only have a negative affect on my brain and not a positive one.

Things like drinking more water, exercising, picking up a hobby etc. are lifestyle changes that IN SOME CASES surely must be able to help? Even if you can’t do big changes like that, simply looking for the positives in your current lifestyle. If you can’t change your lifestyle then change your outlook.

Telling people that these things don’t help depression tells them that they’re fighting this big scary monster that they’re incapable of doing anything against. This can make depression seem even worse than it already is.

Obviously people that just brush off depression are the worst but to me telling people that there’s nothing they can do isn’t much better.

In short, lifestyle changes CAN help but if they don’t, go to a professional for therapy or medication and good luck fighting your depression anyway you can.