JF

"I notice a lot of people with depression don't do anything with their body" This is probably correct but it fails to appreciate that inactivity is often a symptom of depression even if it has some causal effect. I notice many depressed people don't smile and think they should!

"I notice depressed people don't smile and think they should!', is a similar formulation. It has clearly been shown that the action of smiling creates positive effects on mood. Depressed people rarely smile, so maybe if they did they'd be happier. Not untrue, but not so useful.

An assumption Marty (& others) makes is that the afflicted generally have agency to take up his obvious advice, thus making it useful. The sad truth is that they generally don't have practical agency (except theoretically).

At the core of the psychology of depression and many other mental issues, like substance abuse, is hopelessness - the "perceived" or real lack of options. Considering it is mental problems we are considering, perception is enough to be a tangible impediment.

If most depression could be solved easily using simple techniques most people could access, afford and have time to carry out, most people wouldn't remain depressed. An alternative view requires the view that depressed people want to remain depressed or are deeply unintelligent.

If for the sake of of argument we entertain the idea that the depressed are dumb or enjoy depression, well in that case lifestyle advice is futile.https://twitter.com/as_a_as_a/status/1332079757769531397 …

Now assume that personal lifestyle solutions like "exercise" etc. were effective at combating mental problems. Does the political economy, the way society is structured make these "solutions" achievable in the aggregate?

I suspect that examining suburban car culture, urban claustrophobia, isolation, costs/money, free time available and other factors would clearly show how unviable the lifestyle "solutions" are at scale, &, further, how depression is often the result of the structure of society.