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Thank you!
That said, while I did say that sometimes forcing yourself to get up and get on with it does work, on some days it really isn't worth it. I've gotten out of bed some days only to spend the whole day feeling nothing at all and with barely enough energy to hold my head up straight. It's draining and it leaves me mentally exhausted. Piccolo's analogy with the migraine is a good one. On the days that it's mild enough that getting up is the best thing to do, that's awesome, but when the light of the sun coming through the curtains in the morning makes your head pound harder, what's the benefit in making yourself feel worse?
I agree that people with any illness need to help themselves, but I completely understand why depression is so difficult. I'm fortunate in a way, because a lot of people in my family have had depression, so a few years ago I was able to recognise the very early signs and force myself to go for a long walk every morning before I fully woke up.
I understand that when people are depressed they don't see the point in anything or don't have the emotional strength to help themselves. My mother has been depressed since I was very young, and there have been many times where I've needed to point out the solution to a problem, because she was to depressed to see it.
I think one of the problems with dealing with depression is that there's a lot of general information that might not be relevant to the individual. Things like exercise do help, but I think for a lot of depressed people being told to exercise or they won't get better would probably make them feel worse. I found aromatherapy really helpful, but if you're depressed because you're unemployed you're not going to be able to afford essential oils. Dealing with my brother's depression seems to have been simple because we just cut all suagr from his diet, but the first few days when he was unable to eat what made him feel slightly better were really horrible for him.
Maybe things like reducing sugar, taking a multi vitamin and walking around while brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil would make a slight difference, but I understand it's very difficult. I don't think medication is always the answer though, I think sometimes depression can be a symptom rather than the problem. I'm not saying this applies to everyone, but my mother's depression was due to events in her childhood and lack of support as an adult, and when I was young she felt dependant on her medication, which I think made it worse, as she associated dependence with her childhood. When she began to reduce her medication and tried other methods, such as improving her diet and doing exericise, she started to feel better.
I think, ideally, depression should be something we're all aware of so we can prevent it or deal with the first indications, rather than waiting until we really are depressed. Ideas like the one in this article are making it harder for people to accept that anyone can be depressed, just as anyone can get cancer or a sore throat, which is making it unlikely that people will do what they can to prevent it.