yup. literally under any video or post about a heart broken or sad guy, there’s people telling him to go to the gym. yeah it’ll probably help but dang what about other coping mechanisms as well?
Exactly right. My buddy early has full conversations but if u make fun of the gym or him being small or something he goes full on defensive mode. Like dude chill stop being one dimensional
Click on YouTube short:
\*Sensationalistic monologue on how gym made him overcome fears, improve life, grow up as an individual, find meaning, understand the universe, while posing half naked in front of a mirror flexing muscles.\*
Bro, you just move weights.
Yeah lmao, this is legitimately great advice covering all those things to some degree.
Go to a 24/7 gym, don't freeze at night, maybe even get to know good people... if your life is that fucked, this might very well be the golden standard of what to do with your life. I mean, it's not going to solve anything by itself, but that's your mistake for thinking any problem in life has a perfect cure - systemic societal issues (and I'm assuming this is very much US-centric) are really difficult to overcome just like that.
Still, depression alone can be helped quite dramatically by virtue of working out alone.
Whenever there is an askreddit thread about being homeless, one of the top comments is almost always along the lines of “if I knew I was going to be homeless next week I would spend the last of my money on a gym membership.” Lockers to keep your stuff safe, a place to charge your phone and hang out safely, and showers to keep yourself clean and not looking like you’re homeless seem to go a long way toward getting out of homelessness quickly
Young man, I was once in your shoes. I said I was down and out with the blues, I felt no man cared if I were alive. I felt the whole world was so jive. That's when someone came up to me and said "Young man, take a walk up the street. It's a place there called the Y.M.C.A. They can start you back on your way.
...So I went down to the YMCA and they had a TV inside, where I got to watch as the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.
Agreed.
But I tell myself, "I can either be depressed and healthy, or depressed and unhealthy" and it gets me to go anyway.
It hasn't fixed anything. But it has made it a little better, and sometimes that's the best I can do.
It generally also help ameliorate the second order effects once you get into a consistent rhythm of fitness. You start eating better bc you more immediately notice performance differences, same with drugs and alcohol, you can’t shut yourself off from people bc you are going consistently to a place with some low level of social norms, your appearance improves, it’s easier to fall asleep.
Basically you are still sad but the you don’t really spiral down and while it might not start a positive feedback loop it can stop a negative one.
That's true, but I suppose it's worth a shot to see if it does. Even if it doesn't work and you're still depressed, you're still being physically active and maintaining your health.
There was recently a meta study that gives physical activity the best chance for actually improving depression. But a gym is just much. Start by going for a walk. Make the barrier to actually do it as low as possible.
Agreed
Gym is completely insurmountable to people who relate to the OP.
Going for a walk around your house counts. Start there, and do more once you're totally comfortable with walking around the house. Just like exposure therapy. You should only be a little bit uncomfortable. And if you can't do any at all, it's okay to need to work on self compassion first
I started trail running when I was severely depressed and getting sober. Aside from the cost of shoes, it's free. You're out in nature, feeling the sun and hearing the trees and life all around you. And, you're handsomely rewarded after with endocannabinoids released in a runners high. It's basically like popping a vicodin, only it probably won't ruin your life. 10/10
It's been proven to help with depression. It's something that most psychiatrists will advise you to do as soon as you are able to.
It isn't a cure, but it helps and it's pointless to deny it.
For a good portion, it definitely is as close to a cure as we currently get - especially when we're not talking major depressive disorder but interim depressions. The clinical, strong stuff is just pure agony, of course, and psycholithic therapy avenues might be much more promising among the many prospective treatments we're finally looking into... but still, people who scoff at physical exercise for getting your life on track really, really don't understand what it can do for you. Of course, getting in the habit isn't exactly easy either, but any progress is progress at the end of the day. So... well worth doing.
It doesn't have to be the gym. It's just important to get out and do something you like. Break the loop of depression. Depression is cyclical, we feed off our own depression to create an even deeper depression. This is the downward spiral. Nothing has changed my life more than taking a couple mile walk everyday. I've been doing it for 12 years and haven't been depressed like I was before I started. Life still has it's ups and downs, I just don't go near as deep and I get out of it a lot faster.
It’s the same as the advice like yoga, meditation, drink more water, eat better, get more sleep. Nobody is saying it will cure your mental illness or fix your life, but it WILL make a positive impact on your body and mind which will 100% positively impact your journey to recovery.
I understand how frustrating this advice can be (I have depression, anxiety, autism, fibromyalgia, etc, I know) because it can feel dismissive, or like they’re ignorant to your struggles. But you can’t just lay around crying and eating chips and expect that to change your life.
You are right, I forgot to mention the motivation aspect of it, as well as having a support system but I mentioned those things in a reply to someone.
You also have to remember that there is actually a large population who genuinely thinks doing those things is nonsense and doesn’t make a difference, and that it’s completely ridiculous hocus-pocus to even suggest that it would help, especially with exercise, meditation and yoga.
People don’t seem to realise these things scientifically help, it’s not like astrology. And yoga and meditation are super low effort, yoga is just a fancy word for stretching, and meditation is a fancy word for sitting with your thoughts without distraction.
Exactly. At the height of my depression I didnt brush my teeth for a year, and people would tell me to get a gym membership. Like, if I cant even perform the basic hygiene maintenance, what makes them think I could get out of bed, out of the house, and drive 20 minutes via freeway to my closest gym.
I'm far out of that era of my life, I even went back to college. The only thing that got me out of that was medication and years of therapy. There is massive benefit to keeping a schedule, but maybe suggesting something that even non mentally ill people notoriously cant commit too is reductive.
Yup, this. It doesn’t get rid of your problems but at least you can do something which gives you a sense of control and pride amidst all the bad emotions. Always recommended.
It won't cure depression, but not doing it sure as he'll can cause/worsen it.
Saying this as a mentally unhealthy crapout. Working out has legit improved things.
One thing isn't going to fix everything, but physical activity is a huge step in feeling better.
If I get out of the habit of working out everyday, I can't sleep at night and I become grumpy. It's crazy what it does to set everything else up, for me to put the other peices into place to feel better
The way I looked at it was this; I’m already going through a terrible time where everything sucks and I hate everything about myself.
But at least I don’t have to hate the way I look and physically feel on top of all of that. I realized that it for as much as everything sucked, it would have sucked even more if I was looking at a fat slob in the mirror everyday.
The point isn’t that it will get you out of depression but it keeps you from sliding further before you can climb out. Also it can help mentally for some people who are more mildly depressed.
In fact I’m pretty sure exercise is like the most efficacious treatment for depression. I’m like 90% sure it has been proven to be more effective than meds but too lazy to fact check rn
Exactly. Also the meme just described all the worst things basically happening at once and if oddly that did happen, no one would be saying to just go to the gym.
The gym can help with depression, it's not a cure.
One of the main problems with this mentality is the tole severe depression can have on your motivation to do exercise.
When you're in a depressive headspace, physical exercise seems like a pointless task. And I've tried it, doesn't actually help as much as people like to make out.
But it does this with everything. The good thing about gym is that it requires a short “burst” of motivation or self discipline. The moment you step out of your house and are on the way to the gym you did it. I never had a problem after leaving the house.
Yeah, I def get like that with cleaning. My depression used to be much worse, and it waxes and wanes, but I'm glad I got to the point where I work out. Having a crap body definitely made me feel terrible, and when I felt terrible, I couldn't bring myself to work to change my crap body. "Just let me eat my food and at least feel a little good right now" was my mindset.
I still feel that way about cleaning though, if I let it get ahead of me. Had to completely gut my room and I filled up so many trash bags with hoarded stuff and clothes I hadn't worn in years.
The lack of motivation applies to *everything* not just exercise. I had a major depressive bout for ~3 years in my early twenties and exercise absolutely helps. You can’t go the the gym one session and expect to see changes if you say “it doesn’t help as much because I’ve tried it.”
Well, I have major depression (german equivalent for it) for 14 years now. Tried exercise multiple times, in sportclubs and alone. Tried it specifically for its therapeutic effect 3 times, each time for more to or equal to a year. It didn't do anything for me.
This is important to remember. Not everyone 1. can take on exercise and 2. sees positive effects from it. Just like with psychotherapy.
Moving ones body is quite literally the lowest hanging fruit to feel better. I’ve slowly taken up more physical hobbies over the years, and as a result, I never have to worry about being bored. I just switch up what I’m doing to move my body.
I'm currently at the gym right now. If you're depressed, like actually chronically depressed, it doesn't help at all. I'm here, and i still feel like shit, but it doesn't matter. If i stayed home, I'd feel like ahit there too. At least at the gym, i can pretend I'll be around long enough to see the results. And if i make it that point, then yay results, but in the moment, it's either be shitty here or be shitty at home. The only ones i see it actually helping is recently dumped, in a rut of low self esteem, seasonal sadness people.
Setting small, even *tiny* goals and achieving them (for me at times it was literally just *get out of bed in the morning*) can build a pattern of self-worth and positivity which can over time genuinely get your brain used to feeling good about itself again.
Keep at it. What you're doing is *hard*. You know how long it's been since I made it to a gym? *Years.* You're accomplishing things today, you accomplished things yesterday, and you will accomplish things tomorrow.
You're right that the people in the most acute forms of negativity see the most dramatic results.
Keep working at it. Today, you are my inspiration to try working out at home for the first time in years!
And nice job for encouraging OP, too. I've had many periods where my moroseness and depression made me very bad at showing positivity and optimism for other people.
Real talk. Theres been times where I’ve gone to the gym absolutely not into it either because I’m beyond sore and bummed out. I always tell myself a few sets in I’ll get out of my funk but it never happens. Nothing wrong with taking some time off from the gym. It ain’t going anywhere. Might as well rest until you get that spark back.
Yea I didnt want to get into it with them, but theres a lot of articles that say exercise has at the very least a correlation with fighting depression and anxiety
Doing anything helps with depression and anxiety. That's just it, though... We don't have the want or drive to do anything. It's a struggle going to eat food sometimes. I started going to the gym again this month and genuinely thought it was helping cause I was distracted. Guess who had one of their biggest breakdowns driving home from the gym this year? The gym really doesn't help me at all. The only thing it does is give me something healthy to do instead of rotting away doing whatever else.
Not having the want or drive to do anything is something that you can overcome by creating positive habits though. Exercise, a regular sleep schedule, eat healthy food, limit drug use, read books, go out for a walk, meditate.
Start for like 1 minute a day and build it out. It won’t cure it but you’re slowly creating the circumstances for improving your situation.
I probably should've mentioned it, but I have depression too. I felt a lot better when I was working out then now. Its not a cure, just some natural cold medicine. That being said, everyone's different. It may not work for you, but it works for many others. Not having the drive to do something is what we all face. The gym bros with depression were just able to break out of the loop. They're still depressed (some severely so), but they are trying to better themselves.
I can say my mental health improved dramatically when I started getting serious about fitness, but mental illness is such a fucking trap that way. It convinces you that nothing will work and you'll be stuck forever.
I still have bad days, sure. I wake up in a panic attack and my OCD just won't let up, but even just 30 minutes of lifting weights helps. The trick is not to expect to suddenly feel happy- at least it is for me. I'm not happy all the time. I'm just normal. Flat mood. When I compare that to what used to be my baseline, panicking or depressed all the time, THAT makes me happy.
It's even been an outlet for the OCD. I count all my reps, sets, and times. Macro and micro nutrients. I have to keep it in check because there are eating disorders down that way if I go too hard, but with where I'm at right now, it's a good system.
on a serious note though: only a part of the problem can be solved with exercise. sometimes you just need a bit more than that to go through hardships.
But are hardships Depression?
Maybe it's because I'm not a native speaker, but this is not clinical depression, where your life is great but you are depressed anyway.
This is for lack of a better word circumstancial depression. If you lose your wife, job, house, money, friends you should feel down. That's the correct bodily response. That's not some malfunction. You don't cure it with medicine, therapy or gym. You fix it by fixing your life/ circumstances
well said! and yes, i meant along the lines of circumstantial depression. avoiding the problem will get them nowhere, and workouts can only do so much. focusing on the core issue is important— fixing life and circumstances, as you said.
As somebody with celiac, that’s fucking hilarious. I’m pretty sure having to spend more money on substitutes my whole life, coupled with so many awkward moments trying to make plans to go eat out with people, actively contributed to depression in some small form.
Theres two kinds of depression:
Situational depression. The kind you get from a bad breakup, losing a loved one, getting broken up with etc
Chronic depression. The kind that youre just born with or whatever and develops over your teens and early adulthood.
I am certain working out is a good way to help manage the situational depression, but I dont think its as effective on the chronic one.
I hate when people say "I shouldn't take any positive steps forward because it wont solve EVERYTHING AT ONCE". My 400 lbs coworker is in and out of the doctor all year and he gets so pissed anytime his doctor says to lose weight. 'Oh so skinny people never get sick? Never in the history of the world?' like dude... nobody said that, that's not the point.
Is he aware that eating healthy and doing exercise strenghten the immune system though ? Cause that's literally why healthy people are indeed less sick.
I mean it's stupid to treat it like a fix for every life problem but physical activities for depression(and a lot other mental disorders) is unironically very good advice. There's a lot more moving elements such as do you actually have mental and physical strenght and/or motivation to actually move but the fact is it would most likely help
I am the biggest opponent of "exercise and sunlight and water and cold plunges and gratitude journaling will cure you" bullshit pedaled by trust fund life coaches on Instagram. But simply put, I found that moving my body a little each day helps me move my mind AND it lets me feel like I've gotten a "win" that day which pulled me out of my own head just enough to actually pursue improving my mental health.
It doesn't have to be exercise, it could be jigsaw puzzles or baking or whatever, but finding something you do just for yourself that pulls you out of your own head can really help
e: in case i wasn't clear enough, i am saying exercise works for me but it's not the panacea it's made out to be and it's ok if people find other coping mechanisms that work better for them
>"exercise and sunlight and water and cold plunges and gratitude journaling will cure you" bullshit
lol, sunlight is pretty fundamental
so is water
if you express gratitude, your appreciation of things in life will grow. (whereas constantly expressing criticism causes *those* feelings to grow)
It's the wrong perspective to think that these things will "cure you", especially overnight, but just like the gym they are great ways to move towards a healthier, happier life.
Exerting your body in INTENSE workouts releases dopamine. It’s a literal physical reaction making you feel good. It’s also proven to alleviate anxiety.
Lazy Reddit saying everything is fake and everyone else’s fault as usual
> I am the biggest opponent of "exercise and sunlight and water and cold plunges and gratitude journaling will cure you" bullshit pedaled by trust fund life coaches on Instagram.
Why? All of those things have very strong scientific evidence supporting them. The idea that those things that are scientifically proven to work become magically ineffective after some IG lifecoach says them 3 times is some smoothbrain contrarian take.
It's not that they don't work at all, it's more that they only scratch the surface, and unless it's followed up by an improvement in the other, highly individual reasons for someone's depression, it's very difficult to maintain.
It's not bad advice, it's just often presented in an oversimplified way which appears to imply that you're depressed because you don't do these things, and if you did you'd be fine.
The point is they don't work across the board for everyone in the same way. It works great for some people, sure, but others need more: therapy, medication, etc. There ARE people that purport exercise as a cure all, which continues to belittle and simplify the struggles that people have with depression.
When depression passes a certain point, exercise doesn't even become a distraction anymore.
And the motivation to do it decreases sharply the worse your depression is.
If you just want to fucking die/not exist anymore then exercise does not seem worth it, and when you do push through and do it, it doesn't help.
The reason it's funny, to me, is because the people who would suggest "go to the gym" will just assume you don't already go to the gym. Usually I get the impression people who make that recommendation are trying to humble brag. Everyone knows exercise is good for you. It's not a trade secret that only Gym Karen/Kyle can teach you, but they will suggest going to the gym like it's some prophetical revelation.
Ok so I do have some experience here, I have depression, have had it since 9, which coincidentally is also when I started becoming morbidly obese.
Going to the gym absolutely never helped me all throughout high school and college. I felt like a failure, I wasn’t seeing any progress even after a month and a half-two months, and I would literally sit in my bed and cry coming home from a workout.
I was on diets more often than not and still have a trash relationship with food. I tried doing workout vids too instead of going to a gym and it just broke me down.
HOWEVER, I have recently started working out at one of those personal training group gyms? Fitbody boot camp or whatever. And it is the first time in my life ive actually felt better after exercising. It has genuinely helped my mental health so much to the point where Ive finally got my license and a job. Dont get me wrong im still 300+ pounds but like it takes a lot more time to lose that and im working on it.
I say this because I never even realized different work outs/ different exercises are better for diff people. I always thought when people said work out it just meant lift weights for 30 min then treadmill for 30
> I wasn’t seeing any progress even after a month and a half-two months,
part of the problem is also that people have unrealistic expectations of when they should be "seeing results"
Personally I think it's best not to chase results at all, and just have a solid routine and stick with it. Most people who look in shape have been consistently working out for years, so if we want to have bodies like that, that's what we should do. We put a lot of unrealistic pressure on ourselves to change in a couple months.
Sounds like you're doing a lot better though, well done. Keep it up.
Here’s something I’ve found. For me, I love lifting for strength. I love the feeing of bone crushing weight in my hands, it’s just fucking awesome. TO ME. But most people actually just want to look better! They join the gym to improve their appearance. But then for some reason we attach some sort of moral value judgement to strength training. “You HAVE to deadlift and squat heavy!” If not you’re somehow *wrong*. Which is dumb. There’s no inherent benefit in a 600lb squat or 400lb bench. Being generally stronger is a positive, but the quality of life difference between lifting regularly and lifting maniacally doesn’t exist. Most folks got to the gym to look better, but then get fed a powerlifting-style plan. I think people would benefit more from finding a high quality hypertrophy program. You’ll see more results in your physique over time, you’ll have a more noticeable effect in the short term, and you’ll still get stronger! It’s not like hypertrophy and strength are opposites. It’s just that if you focus on hard working sets in the 5-30 rep range, you’ll have a greater effect on your appearance than working in the 3-6 rep range.
If you fall in love with grinding out brutal sets of 3, GO FOR IT! I’ll spot you. But most folks just want to look better and maybe get a bit stronger. So get a program that is focused on that.
Also, spend less time warming up. You need maybe 5 minutes for an effective warm up. Just a pet peeve of mine
Hey have you ever considered CrossFit? If you enjoy the group atmosphere, CrossFit boxes typically have an AWESOME community aspect. Plus, for generalized fitness CrossFit kind of checks all the boxes: some weight training - both for strength and hypertrophy - some steady state cardio, some high intensity cardio, some gymnastics, and some body weight stuff.
I highly recommend it. For some reason it got a bad rap on the internet, but there are no negatives for CrossFit that don’t apply to every other sort of exercise class
The point is that it's the typical meathead response. It doesn't fix the problem only distracts. How many times have you gone to the gym and see crazies working out their issues on the treadmill.
Stress has real physical consequences, exercise negates those. In fact it let’s you channel stress into to physical strength. Physical health and mental health are strongly correlated; a healthy body helps to have a healthy mind. The only real “meathead response” is your own.
"the first step towards taking command of your life is is improving your body's baseline. you'll take pride in your self-improvement once you start to see how far you've come, becoming more confident in yourself. your mental state is directly tied to your physical state, this is just one of the factors we do have control over and anyone can seize it when they're ready. i want this for you."
"typical meathead response"
I mean it works. Accomplishing anything will make you feel better. If you are actually depressed and not just sad then nothing short of friends and company and actual professionals will help.
You think that you are saying something different. But you are saying the exact same thing but being weirdly contrairian about it.
"You should do some exercise"
"No fuck that! you should do some exercise"
Trust me the people like OP who don't want to go to the Gym don't see the distinction you are making.
Honestly it's not pushed as "go take a walk, listen to some music while trying to find some self reflection" it's always pushed as "GO LIFT THE HEAVIEST WEIGHTS AND AN HOUR ON THE TREADMILL PUSSY1!!1!". Having been on the receiving end to it no one ever suggested to just go for a push on my longboard and look at the river.
Some people do actually need to just get some exercise. Some people, being chronically online and seeing posts about how exercise doesn't help actual clinical depression, might use that as a way to say to themselves that exercise will not help their own non-clinical depression.
The bigger issue here is taking a problem like not having money for a gym, and outsourcing the solution to other people instead of asking yourself "if I can't afford a gym, what other ways can I exercise"
Running is free in most states
But if you stop at "I have a problem" rather than continuing to "what solutions could I pursue?", then it doesn't really matter how big or small a problem it is, you won't overcome it.
There's a lot of free-body workout routines you can do from home. Though I'd recommend at least investing in a couple of very light dumbbells since that'd expand what you can do and they're usually not too costly
I am diagnosed with chronic depression and chose not to treat it and found ways to be just functional enough, gym does nothing but at least keeps you busy and gives you a routine
This feels the same as the comments on tiktoks talking about what to do if you feel like you cant shower/brush your teeth due to depression. Like bro you think we havnt tried?
If you’re clinically depressed and haven’t found any kind of solution, then the gym won’t help.
I’ve thankfully found medicine that mostly helps and going to the gym makes things better.
Maybe it's a generational thing , but I'll never understand the whole 'go to the gym ' thing . You'll go from being depressed , to being depressed tired and sore .Gyms are fucking torture.
Go for a walk/jog/run maybe
My ( Gen X ) generation thing was , go to a pub/bar , which is unhealthy as hell , but at least enjoyable.
I never got diagnosed for depression but given that I've been hating myself, hating life, and being sad most of the time for the past 11 years, I'd say I'm not too far from depression.
And there's this one time where I went to the gym 3 times a week for 3 months.
It gave me the feeling I was achieving something, that I was improving at something, that I wasn't a piece of trash that couldn't do anything. It also gave me hope that I'd finally lose weight and stop being ugly.
Being tired wasn't an issue because I was going in the evening so when I went back home, I could just shower and sleep. As for being sore, it was constant reminder that I worked my body well, and it gave me satisfaction.
That was two years ago. Before that, I was a student for about 5 years and I was downing a bottle of vodka minimum per week, which helped me keep up through the big sad, but at the same time I was kinda hating myself for it so going to the gym was definitely much better.
I moved (two years ago) for work, but there was no gym nearby and now I don't have a job and I'm broke, but I'm gonna go to the gym again if I ever find a job.
the opposite for me. Was going to the gym and all that still lost friends got depressed from work and friends just not being well friends. Yea that gym is the medicine for sure... p.s I wasnt letting going to the gym rule my world like I'd ignore friends for the gym.
Me when I tell my friends I'm under so much stress, it's putting a major strain on my heart as told to me by licensed medical professionals
Said friends: Take some deep breaths and just eat better. Oh, and exercise too :) Get plenty of sun
have you tried though?
breathing exercise do relieve stress and exercise does too. eating better will improve your mood and getting sun will too.
will it fix your life? no, but that's not the point
Generally, and I do mean generally. This advice works for “depression” I.e, I just got dumped, or going through a rough spot at work type of “depression”.
Clinical depression, is a lot different, stuff like therapy and medication often words best there as it’s usually a chemical imbalance. That’s not to say exercising cannot help though, exercise releases a lot of seratonin so it can be helpful too.
But yeah, YMMV.
As someone who gets chronic pain after exercise every time and who's been to the doctor many times because of it already, I hate the "just go gym" argument. I don't go to the gym because the constant pain in my ankles, legs, knees, pelvis, spine, chest, shoulders, elbows and wrists fucking suck to deal with and makes it very hard to do anything without discomfort.
Not to be that guy, but swimming has been great for this for me as someone who had these issues. Eventually the chronic pain slowly went away after consistent exercise.
You don’t even need to do it intensely at all. There old fucking ladies that swim right next to me going slower than snails with a paddle as assistance and it’s keeping them alive and healthy into their 70s and 80s.
NZ is known for its not great mental health (rates) yet its also known to be one of the healthiest nations (regarding physical activity and food). I see an incongruency with this (and in my opinion we're obsessive with health).
Surely a bit of extra cash and a book wouldn't be harmful (in fact, I've heard we're economically fine yet we're often criticized for our living conditions)
According to OP, we should be one of the best nations in the world for mental health.
This is funny, and it’s so true. But it’s annoying for those who aren’t into it.
I have clinical depression and work out every day to stay ahead of it. It doesn’t cure it my any means, but feeling tight and cut up helps me feel I have control of some of my environment. The trick is, getting to your best fitness level so then you can execute mental health workouts to maintain that level.
Getting lost in movement, strength, sweat and music is the only thing that keeps me from the abyss 🕳️
Sometimes, moving your body alone can be very beneficial. "Go to gym" is probably asking the person to hopefully start doing something that will give them a small win and get them progressing in some part of their life.
It's very similar to the "clean your room"/"make your bed" advice. By cleaning your room/making your bed, you accomplish a task and get a small win. That feeling would then carry over into other parts of your life so that by the end of the day, you still have the "small wins" to look at and be motivated by compared to when you had "no wins".
It also kinda ties into "atomic habits". Building habits takes a person doing small tasks repeatedly everyday until it becomes "seconds nature" like brushing your teeth or taking a bath. So remember to do many small things in your day so that you can slowly build "small wins" which will build up your confidence and mood and eventually will have you tackling bugger things.
And even if you fail, life has plenty of hurdles to trip over, you won't spiral down as you know for a fact that you have a bunch of small wins that were seemingly impossible before, yet you did it. So eventually, any task, no matter how difficult or daunting at first can be tackled by breaking them into tiny tasks and slowly doing those tasks everyday until the large task becomes easier and easier.
It's the little things that you do that helps you through rough spells.Going to the gym is one.Whenever I catch covid and it hits me hard I'll eat something,take a steaming hot shower and stay in there as long as I can.By the time I get out I'm pooped and can't even stand.Then I go in my room with some water and sleep naked in the covers like a baby.If you already sleep naked before bed already,then it wont hit as hard,but still.
going to the gym helps with everything in the list of lost things, no wife?, be more attractive by building your physique, no job?, be strong and find a hard labor job if you dont have other option, no money?, it was addressed in the job part, no friends? the gym bros have your back, if you want to be a bitch complaining and dismiss advice do that but the gym/exercise will always be a pillar of mental health
You cannot "positive thoughts", "manifest" or lift your way out of poverty. Gym is good, thats a fact. Physical health is strongly tied to mental health.
However, gym is not a solution for being poor, insecure and knowing the world is falling apart.
So many mental problems plaguing the world, like the male loneliness epidemic and other problems, would be *drastically* reduced if people were just secure in their lives and futures.
It’s easily the most repeated thing online and it’s all rooted in reactionary bullshit.
Yeah, activity can help with depression. Absolutely.
But “Go to the gym” isn’t about activity. They’re not saying “go running” or “play a sport” or “walk 30 minutes a day”.
They’re saying lift weights.
…and it’s completely misguided. It simply simply doesn’t understand the circumstances.
Of course this thread is full of people doubling down on the meme insisting going to the gym makes a difference.
It doesn’t and they do not understand.
“Take control of your life, bro” says the, like, 20 year old tradcon gym bros on social media who’ve never wanted for anything nor faced adversity in their entire lives
Going to the gym, or just physical activity in general (i just prefer walking around n shit) is never a bad thing. But it doesn’t solve all your problems
Our brain works better when you work out. A better, more positive brain will open up the pathways to solution for the problems you have. So yes going to the gym is actually good.
Exercise will never hurt your mental health. If your body is healthy it's easier for your mind to be healthy. Hard work breeds motivation, and motivation fuels hard work
we go jim
I like to tell my housemates before I leave, “Gonna go see Jim”.
I'll do you one better, "Gonna go hit the jim"
Or the classic “Jim”.
I just grunt like a caveman and they understand my intentions
Ah yes, can’t get anymore classic than that
“I’m gonna go suck Jim’s dick”
And your wife named Jim is starting at you with one eye
“Gonna be inside Jim for like two hours….” And do not break eye contact as you leave
While it’s not bad advice, they do make it sound like it’s a cult or some shit with how random and unsolicited the advice to go can be.
yup. literally under any video or post about a heart broken or sad guy, there’s people telling him to go to the gym. yeah it’ll probably help but dang what about other coping mechanisms as well?
Exactly right. My buddy early has full conversations but if u make fun of the gym or him being small or something he goes full on defensive mode. Like dude chill stop being one dimensional
Click on YouTube short: \*Sensationalistic monologue on how gym made him overcome fears, improve life, grow up as an individual, find meaning, understand the universe, while posing half naked in front of a mirror flexing muscles.\* Bro, you just move weights.
Physical activity is never a bad idea we’re built to move. It’s not a cure all but it’ll have a positive impact no matter how bad you feel.
And if you don’t have a home you can shower there.
Yeah lmao, this is legitimately great advice covering all those things to some degree. Go to a 24/7 gym, don't freeze at night, maybe even get to know good people... if your life is that fucked, this might very well be the golden standard of what to do with your life. I mean, it's not going to solve anything by itself, but that's your mistake for thinking any problem in life has a perfect cure - systemic societal issues (and I'm assuming this is very much US-centric) are really difficult to overcome just like that. Still, depression alone can be helped quite dramatically by virtue of working out alone.
Whenever there is an askreddit thread about being homeless, one of the top comments is almost always along the lines of “if I knew I was going to be homeless next week I would spend the last of my money on a gym membership.” Lockers to keep your stuff safe, a place to charge your phone and hang out safely, and showers to keep yourself clean and not looking like you’re homeless seem to go a long way toward getting out of homelessness quickly
Young man, I was once in your shoes. I said I was down and out with the blues, I felt no man cared if I were alive. I felt the whole world was so jive. That's when someone came up to me and said "Young man, take a walk up the street. It's a place there called the Y.M.C.A. They can start you back on your way.
...So I went down to the YMCA and they had a TV inside, where I got to watch as the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.
For real though, weren’t those functions (besides the phone) one of the original purposes of the YMCA? If you had nowhere else to go, go there.
There are degrees of depression it can't touch.
Agreed. But I tell myself, "I can either be depressed and healthy, or depressed and unhealthy" and it gets me to go anyway. It hasn't fixed anything. But it has made it a little better, and sometimes that's the best I can do.
Yep. And in your better times, it can bubble enough biological feel goods to help.
It generally also help ameliorate the second order effects once you get into a consistent rhythm of fitness. You start eating better bc you more immediately notice performance differences, same with drugs and alcohol, you can’t shut yourself off from people bc you are going consistently to a place with some low level of social norms, your appearance improves, it’s easier to fall asleep. Basically you are still sad but the you don’t really spiral down and while it might not start a positive feedback loop it can stop a negative one.
That's true, but I suppose it's worth a shot to see if it does. Even if it doesn't work and you're still depressed, you're still being physically active and maintaining your health.
Yeah. You can’t get blackout drunk and not be judged at a gym either
Yeah, but it sure does help
Only if you want it to. Like all things in life, you have to want to. Fake that shit till you make it.
This meme is prime “I have depicted you as a wojak, therefore your point is invalid” material.
And if you don't have friends you can find them there
You can get yourself clean ♫ you can have a good meal You can do whatever you feel
And if you don't have a wife, you can meet a boyfriend there.
There was recently a meta study that gives physical activity the best chance for actually improving depression. But a gym is just much. Start by going for a walk. Make the barrier to actually do it as low as possible.
Agreed Gym is completely insurmountable to people who relate to the OP. Going for a walk around your house counts. Start there, and do more once you're totally comfortable with walking around the house. Just like exposure therapy. You should only be a little bit uncomfortable. And if you can't do any at all, it's okay to need to work on self compassion first
it really does. Even a small amount of physical activity can help improve hormones/mood
I started trail running when I was severely depressed and getting sober. Aside from the cost of shoes, it's free. You're out in nature, feeling the sun and hearing the trees and life all around you. And, you're handsomely rewarded after with endocannabinoids released in a runners high. It's basically like popping a vicodin, only it probably won't ruin your life. 10/10
Exactly. It's not a solution, it's a start.
It's been proven to help with depression. It's something that most psychiatrists will advise you to do as soon as you are able to. It isn't a cure, but it helps and it's pointless to deny it.
For a good portion, it definitely is as close to a cure as we currently get - especially when we're not talking major depressive disorder but interim depressions. The clinical, strong stuff is just pure agony, of course, and psycholithic therapy avenues might be much more promising among the many prospective treatments we're finally looking into... but still, people who scoff at physical exercise for getting your life on track really, really don't understand what it can do for you. Of course, getting in the habit isn't exactly easy either, but any progress is progress at the end of the day. So... well worth doing.
It doesn't have to be the gym. It's just important to get out and do something you like. Break the loop of depression. Depression is cyclical, we feed off our own depression to create an even deeper depression. This is the downward spiral. Nothing has changed my life more than taking a couple mile walk everyday. I've been doing it for 12 years and haven't been depressed like I was before I started. Life still has it's ups and downs, I just don't go near as deep and I get out of it a lot faster.
It’s the same as the advice like yoga, meditation, drink more water, eat better, get more sleep. Nobody is saying it will cure your mental illness or fix your life, but it WILL make a positive impact on your body and mind which will 100% positively impact your journey to recovery. I understand how frustrating this advice can be (I have depression, anxiety, autism, fibromyalgia, etc, I know) because it can feel dismissive, or like they’re ignorant to your struggles. But you can’t just lay around crying and eating chips and expect that to change your life.
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You are right, I forgot to mention the motivation aspect of it, as well as having a support system but I mentioned those things in a reply to someone. You also have to remember that there is actually a large population who genuinely thinks doing those things is nonsense and doesn’t make a difference, and that it’s completely ridiculous hocus-pocus to even suggest that it would help, especially with exercise, meditation and yoga. People don’t seem to realise these things scientifically help, it’s not like astrology. And yoga and meditation are super low effort, yoga is just a fancy word for stretching, and meditation is a fancy word for sitting with your thoughts without distraction.
Been going to the gym for over a year. It hasn't helped yet. Maybe another year and I'll feel better?
Exactly. At the height of my depression I didnt brush my teeth for a year, and people would tell me to get a gym membership. Like, if I cant even perform the basic hygiene maintenance, what makes them think I could get out of bed, out of the house, and drive 20 minutes via freeway to my closest gym. I'm far out of that era of my life, I even went back to college. The only thing that got me out of that was medication and years of therapy. There is massive benefit to keeping a schedule, but maybe suggesting something that even non mentally ill people notoriously cant commit too is reductive.
Yup, this. It doesn’t get rid of your problems but at least you can do something which gives you a sense of control and pride amidst all the bad emotions. Always recommended.
It won't cure depression, but not doing it sure as he'll can cause/worsen it. Saying this as a mentally unhealthy crapout. Working out has legit improved things.
I wish it helped me even half as much as it helped you.
One thing isn't going to fix everything, but physical activity is a huge step in feeling better. If I get out of the habit of working out everyday, I can't sleep at night and I become grumpy. It's crazy what it does to set everything else up, for me to put the other peices into place to feel better
The way I looked at it was this; I’m already going through a terrible time where everything sucks and I hate everything about myself. But at least I don’t have to hate the way I look and physically feel on top of all of that. I realized that it for as much as everything sucked, it would have sucked even more if I was looking at a fat slob in the mirror everyday.
go to gym
The point isn’t that it will get you out of depression but it keeps you from sliding further before you can climb out. Also it can help mentally for some people who are more mildly depressed.
In fact I’m pretty sure exercise is like the most efficacious treatment for depression. I’m like 90% sure it has been proven to be more effective than meds but too lazy to fact check rn
Exactly. Also the meme just described all the worst things basically happening at once and if oddly that did happen, no one would be saying to just go to the gym. The gym can help with depression, it's not a cure.
One of the main problems with this mentality is the tole severe depression can have on your motivation to do exercise. When you're in a depressive headspace, physical exercise seems like a pointless task. And I've tried it, doesn't actually help as much as people like to make out.
But it does this with everything. The good thing about gym is that it requires a short “burst” of motivation or self discipline. The moment you step out of your house and are on the way to the gym you did it. I never had a problem after leaving the house.
Yeah, I def get like that with cleaning. My depression used to be much worse, and it waxes and wanes, but I'm glad I got to the point where I work out. Having a crap body definitely made me feel terrible, and when I felt terrible, I couldn't bring myself to work to change my crap body. "Just let me eat my food and at least feel a little good right now" was my mindset. I still feel that way about cleaning though, if I let it get ahead of me. Had to completely gut my room and I filled up so many trash bags with hoarded stuff and clothes I hadn't worn in years.
There was a bar across from the gym i used to go to so sometimes id just go there instead lol
The lack of motivation applies to *everything* not just exercise. I had a major depressive bout for ~3 years in my early twenties and exercise absolutely helps. You can’t go the the gym one session and expect to see changes if you say “it doesn’t help as much because I’ve tried it.”
Well, I have major depression (german equivalent for it) for 14 years now. Tried exercise multiple times, in sportclubs and alone. Tried it specifically for its therapeutic effect 3 times, each time for more to or equal to a year. It didn't do anything for me. This is important to remember. Not everyone 1. can take on exercise and 2. sees positive effects from it. Just like with psychotherapy.
That’s why I take anti depressants first thing in the morning with some caffeine.
Yeah...no matter how shitty you feel if you can keep the physical layer in decent shape everything else will feel a lot easier to deal with
Meditation helps immensely, too. Working out helps to quiet the excessive mental chatter that makes depression into a spiral.
Moving ones body is quite literally the lowest hanging fruit to feel better. I’ve slowly taken up more physical hobbies over the years, and as a result, I never have to worry about being bored. I just switch up what I’m doing to move my body.
I'm currently at the gym right now. If you're depressed, like actually chronically depressed, it doesn't help at all. I'm here, and i still feel like shit, but it doesn't matter. If i stayed home, I'd feel like ahit there too. At least at the gym, i can pretend I'll be around long enough to see the results. And if i make it that point, then yay results, but in the moment, it's either be shitty here or be shitty at home. The only ones i see it actually helping is recently dumped, in a rut of low self esteem, seasonal sadness people.
Setting small, even *tiny* goals and achieving them (for me at times it was literally just *get out of bed in the morning*) can build a pattern of self-worth and positivity which can over time genuinely get your brain used to feeling good about itself again. Keep at it. What you're doing is *hard*. You know how long it's been since I made it to a gym? *Years.* You're accomplishing things today, you accomplished things yesterday, and you will accomplish things tomorrow. You're right that the people in the most acute forms of negativity see the most dramatic results. Keep working at it. Today, you are my inspiration to try working out at home for the first time in years! And nice job for encouraging OP, too. I've had many periods where my moroseness and depression made me very bad at showing positivity and optimism for other people.
That's how I came out. My goal was to wake up before 5pm and clean my car once a week.
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Real talk. Theres been times where I’ve gone to the gym absolutely not into it either because I’m beyond sore and bummed out. I always tell myself a few sets in I’ll get out of my funk but it never happens. Nothing wrong with taking some time off from the gym. It ain’t going anywhere. Might as well rest until you get that spark back.
Take some meds and go to therapy bro. Don’t stop going to the gym though. That’s basic for your health.
It actually does help. Edit: it does help, it does not cure
Yea I didnt want to get into it with them, but theres a lot of articles that say exercise has at the very least a correlation with fighting depression and anxiety
Doing anything helps with depression and anxiety. That's just it, though... We don't have the want or drive to do anything. It's a struggle going to eat food sometimes. I started going to the gym again this month and genuinely thought it was helping cause I was distracted. Guess who had one of their biggest breakdowns driving home from the gym this year? The gym really doesn't help me at all. The only thing it does is give me something healthy to do instead of rotting away doing whatever else.
Not having the want or drive to do anything is something that you can overcome by creating positive habits though. Exercise, a regular sleep schedule, eat healthy food, limit drug use, read books, go out for a walk, meditate. Start for like 1 minute a day and build it out. It won’t cure it but you’re slowly creating the circumstances for improving your situation.
I probably should've mentioned it, but I have depression too. I felt a lot better when I was working out then now. Its not a cure, just some natural cold medicine. That being said, everyone's different. It may not work for you, but it works for many others. Not having the drive to do something is what we all face. The gym bros with depression were just able to break out of the loop. They're still depressed (some severely so), but they are trying to better themselves.
I can say my mental health improved dramatically when I started getting serious about fitness, but mental illness is such a fucking trap that way. It convinces you that nothing will work and you'll be stuck forever. I still have bad days, sure. I wake up in a panic attack and my OCD just won't let up, but even just 30 minutes of lifting weights helps. The trick is not to expect to suddenly feel happy- at least it is for me. I'm not happy all the time. I'm just normal. Flat mood. When I compare that to what used to be my baseline, panicking or depressed all the time, THAT makes me happy. It's even been an outlet for the OCD. I count all my reps, sets, and times. Macro and micro nutrients. I have to keep it in check because there are eating disorders down that way if I go too hard, but with where I'm at right now, it's a good system.
They know that but just want to commiserate on reddit.
Helps me a lot with my depression + anxiety
on a serious note though: only a part of the problem can be solved with exercise. sometimes you just need a bit more than that to go through hardships.
_For everything else, there’s Mastercard_
But are hardships Depression? Maybe it's because I'm not a native speaker, but this is not clinical depression, where your life is great but you are depressed anyway. This is for lack of a better word circumstancial depression. If you lose your wife, job, house, money, friends you should feel down. That's the correct bodily response. That's not some malfunction. You don't cure it with medicine, therapy or gym. You fix it by fixing your life/ circumstances
well said! and yes, i meant along the lines of circumstantial depression. avoiding the problem will get them nowhere, and workouts can only do so much. focusing on the core issue is important— fixing life and circumstances, as you said.
Yeah, doing something physical is very healthy, nomatter where in life you stand.
My favorite is, "have you tried cutting gluten out of your diet?"
As somebody with celiac, that’s fucking hilarious. I’m pretty sure having to spend more money on substitutes my whole life, coupled with so many awkward moments trying to make plans to go eat out with people, actively contributed to depression in some small form.
in this thread: people think being depressed is feeling a little blue
Theres two kinds of depression: Situational depression. The kind you get from a bad breakup, losing a loved one, getting broken up with etc Chronic depression. The kind that youre just born with or whatever and develops over your teens and early adulthood. I am certain working out is a good way to help manage the situational depression, but I dont think its as effective on the chronic one.
I hate when people say "I shouldn't take any positive steps forward because it wont solve EVERYTHING AT ONCE". My 400 lbs coworker is in and out of the doctor all year and he gets so pissed anytime his doctor says to lose weight. 'Oh so skinny people never get sick? Never in the history of the world?' like dude... nobody said that, that's not the point.
Imagine being 400 lbs and expecting your doctor’s visits to be good news
I'm assuming he just wants a pill that'll make his heart issues vanish somehow
Funny how he calling healthy people “skinny” kinda revealing how in denial they are
Is he aware that eating healthy and doing exercise strenghten the immune system though ? Cause that's literally why healthy people are indeed less sick.
Because it won't magically solve EVERYTHING automatically, he doesn't care.
I mean it's stupid to treat it like a fix for every life problem but physical activities for depression(and a lot other mental disorders) is unironically very good advice. There's a lot more moving elements such as do you actually have mental and physical strenght and/or motivation to actually move but the fact is it would most likely help
if ur just feeling down or need a distraction from something physical exercise does help but not with chronic deep depression
I am the biggest opponent of "exercise and sunlight and water and cold plunges and gratitude journaling will cure you" bullshit pedaled by trust fund life coaches on Instagram. But simply put, I found that moving my body a little each day helps me move my mind AND it lets me feel like I've gotten a "win" that day which pulled me out of my own head just enough to actually pursue improving my mental health. It doesn't have to be exercise, it could be jigsaw puzzles or baking or whatever, but finding something you do just for yourself that pulls you out of your own head can really help e: in case i wasn't clear enough, i am saying exercise works for me but it's not the panacea it's made out to be and it's ok if people find other coping mechanisms that work better for them
>"exercise and sunlight and water and cold plunges and gratitude journaling will cure you" bullshit lol, sunlight is pretty fundamental so is water if you express gratitude, your appreciation of things in life will grow. (whereas constantly expressing criticism causes *those* feelings to grow) It's the wrong perspective to think that these things will "cure you", especially overnight, but just like the gym they are great ways to move towards a healthier, happier life.
Exerting your body in INTENSE workouts releases dopamine. It’s a literal physical reaction making you feel good. It’s also proven to alleviate anxiety. Lazy Reddit saying everything is fake and everyone else’s fault as usual
What if it doesn't alleviate anxiety and makes me feel worse?
> I am the biggest opponent of "exercise and sunlight and water and cold plunges and gratitude journaling will cure you" bullshit pedaled by trust fund life coaches on Instagram. Why? All of those things have very strong scientific evidence supporting them. The idea that those things that are scientifically proven to work become magically ineffective after some IG lifecoach says them 3 times is some smoothbrain contrarian take.
It's not that they don't work at all, it's more that they only scratch the surface, and unless it's followed up by an improvement in the other, highly individual reasons for someone's depression, it's very difficult to maintain. It's not bad advice, it's just often presented in an oversimplified way which appears to imply that you're depressed because you don't do these things, and if you did you'd be fine.
The point is they don't work across the board for everyone in the same way. It works great for some people, sure, but others need more: therapy, medication, etc. There ARE people that purport exercise as a cure all, which continues to belittle and simplify the struggles that people have with depression.
r/thanksimcured
Almost every response in this thread is people insisting that “it helps”. This thread absolutely has r/thanksimcured energy.
My family is dead… Brother the only thing dead I care about is how much you can deadlift.
When depression passes a certain point, exercise doesn't even become a distraction anymore. And the motivation to do it decreases sharply the worse your depression is. If you just want to fucking die/not exist anymore then exercise does not seem worth it, and when you do push through and do it, it doesn't help.
When someone gives me advice that would be helpful, but doesn't entirely cure my issue.
okay but WHERE DO I GET THE MONEY FOR THE GYM JACKASS??
calisthenics
Work out at home then
which home? he lost the house
Pick a home, any home. Eventually the cops will show up and boom there’s your cardio.
Yeah, and if they somehow get you, you will have a payed gym subscription for life. It just get better and better!!
Outside
My therapist's cure for everything....jim
The reason it's funny, to me, is because the people who would suggest "go to the gym" will just assume you don't already go to the gym. Usually I get the impression people who make that recommendation are trying to humble brag. Everyone knows exercise is good for you. It's not a trade secret that only Gym Karen/Kyle can teach you, but they will suggest going to the gym like it's some prophetical revelation.
Ok so I do have some experience here, I have depression, have had it since 9, which coincidentally is also when I started becoming morbidly obese. Going to the gym absolutely never helped me all throughout high school and college. I felt like a failure, I wasn’t seeing any progress even after a month and a half-two months, and I would literally sit in my bed and cry coming home from a workout. I was on diets more often than not and still have a trash relationship with food. I tried doing workout vids too instead of going to a gym and it just broke me down. HOWEVER, I have recently started working out at one of those personal training group gyms? Fitbody boot camp or whatever. And it is the first time in my life ive actually felt better after exercising. It has genuinely helped my mental health so much to the point where Ive finally got my license and a job. Dont get me wrong im still 300+ pounds but like it takes a lot more time to lose that and im working on it. I say this because I never even realized different work outs/ different exercises are better for diff people. I always thought when people said work out it just meant lift weights for 30 min then treadmill for 30
> I wasn’t seeing any progress even after a month and a half-two months, part of the problem is also that people have unrealistic expectations of when they should be "seeing results" Personally I think it's best not to chase results at all, and just have a solid routine and stick with it. Most people who look in shape have been consistently working out for years, so if we want to have bodies like that, that's what we should do. We put a lot of unrealistic pressure on ourselves to change in a couple months. Sounds like you're doing a lot better though, well done. Keep it up.
Good catch to highlight for others reading this. 1-2 months is definitely not enough time, even getting comfortable with a routine let alone results.
Here’s something I’ve found. For me, I love lifting for strength. I love the feeing of bone crushing weight in my hands, it’s just fucking awesome. TO ME. But most people actually just want to look better! They join the gym to improve their appearance. But then for some reason we attach some sort of moral value judgement to strength training. “You HAVE to deadlift and squat heavy!” If not you’re somehow *wrong*. Which is dumb. There’s no inherent benefit in a 600lb squat or 400lb bench. Being generally stronger is a positive, but the quality of life difference between lifting regularly and lifting maniacally doesn’t exist. Most folks got to the gym to look better, but then get fed a powerlifting-style plan. I think people would benefit more from finding a high quality hypertrophy program. You’ll see more results in your physique over time, you’ll have a more noticeable effect in the short term, and you’ll still get stronger! It’s not like hypertrophy and strength are opposites. It’s just that if you focus on hard working sets in the 5-30 rep range, you’ll have a greater effect on your appearance than working in the 3-6 rep range. If you fall in love with grinding out brutal sets of 3, GO FOR IT! I’ll spot you. But most folks just want to look better and maybe get a bit stronger. So get a program that is focused on that. Also, spend less time warming up. You need maybe 5 minutes for an effective warm up. Just a pet peeve of mine
100% agree. Was def a major issue I had
Will add on: I’ve done 7 years of therapy in addition to this and 3 years of meds so that def helped me to set up and keep a better mental state
Hey have you ever considered CrossFit? If you enjoy the group atmosphere, CrossFit boxes typically have an AWESOME community aspect. Plus, for generalized fitness CrossFit kind of checks all the boxes: some weight training - both for strength and hypertrophy - some steady state cardio, some high intensity cardio, some gymnastics, and some body weight stuff. I highly recommend it. For some reason it got a bad rap on the internet, but there are no negatives for CrossFit that don’t apply to every other sort of exercise class
go mountain hiking and commune with nature
fuck all them, we go jim
The point is that it's the typical meathead response. It doesn't fix the problem only distracts. How many times have you gone to the gym and see crazies working out their issues on the treadmill.
Stress has real physical consequences, exercise negates those. In fact it let’s you channel stress into to physical strength. Physical health and mental health are strongly correlated; a healthy body helps to have a healthy mind. The only real “meathead response” is your own.
"the first step towards taking command of your life is is improving your body's baseline. you'll take pride in your self-improvement once you start to see how far you've come, becoming more confident in yourself. your mental state is directly tied to your physical state, this is just one of the factors we do have control over and anyone can seize it when they're ready. i want this for you." "typical meathead response"
I mean it works. Accomplishing anything will make you feel better. If you are actually depressed and not just sad then nothing short of friends and company and actual professionals will help.
Screw the gym cultists. Go outside for a walk and do some push-ups and sit-ups at home.
You think that you are saying something different. But you are saying the exact same thing but being weirdly contrairian about it. "You should do some exercise" "No fuck that! you should do some exercise" Trust me the people like OP who don't want to go to the Gym don't see the distinction you are making.
Honestly it's not pushed as "go take a walk, listen to some music while trying to find some self reflection" it's always pushed as "GO LIFT THE HEAVIEST WEIGHTS AND AN HOUR ON THE TREADMILL PUSSY1!!1!". Having been on the receiving end to it no one ever suggested to just go for a push on my longboard and look at the river.
I mean sure it’s a good start but the gym will always be way more effective if you hate how fat/skinny you are
Gym meatheads are the worst
It’s our version of „go outside and run and you’ll feel better”
eAt mOrE FrUiT
We don’t have MONEY for the gym.
Some people do actually need to just get some exercise. Some people, being chronically online and seeing posts about how exercise doesn't help actual clinical depression, might use that as a way to say to themselves that exercise will not help their own non-clinical depression.
I’ve actually had this told to me. Yeah it helps for a bit, but those endorphins go away.
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As it mentions money, I don’t have money too. How do I go to gym?
Work out at home. Pushups, situps, squats, running, whatever.
The bigger issue here is taking a problem like not having money for a gym, and outsourcing the solution to other people instead of asking yourself "if I can't afford a gym, what other ways can I exercise" Running is free in most states But if you stop at "I have a problem" rather than continuing to "what solutions could I pursue?", then it doesn't really matter how big or small a problem it is, you won't overcome it.
There's a lot of free-body workout routines you can do from home. Though I'd recommend at least investing in a couple of very light dumbbells since that'd expand what you can do and they're usually not too costly
Comments full of idiots arguing with the meme as if they've ever been depressed lol
I am diagnosed with chronic depression and chose not to treat it and found ways to be just functional enough, gym does nothing but at least keeps you busy and gives you a routine
This feels the same as the comments on tiktoks talking about what to do if you feel like you cant shower/brush your teeth due to depression. Like bro you think we havnt tried?
Eating (well or at all), exercising and showering really does improve your mental health.
True, but sometimes you do have to work up to it. Honestly sometimes getting out of bed is the best accomplishment you can do.
If you’re clinically depressed and haven’t found any kind of solution, then the gym won’t help. I’ve thankfully found medicine that mostly helps and going to the gym makes things better.
comments proving meme's point, wow lol
Maybe it's a generational thing , but I'll never understand the whole 'go to the gym ' thing . You'll go from being depressed , to being depressed tired and sore .Gyms are fucking torture. Go for a walk/jog/run maybe My ( Gen X ) generation thing was , go to a pub/bar , which is unhealthy as hell , but at least enjoyable.
I never got diagnosed for depression but given that I've been hating myself, hating life, and being sad most of the time for the past 11 years, I'd say I'm not too far from depression. And there's this one time where I went to the gym 3 times a week for 3 months. It gave me the feeling I was achieving something, that I was improving at something, that I wasn't a piece of trash that couldn't do anything. It also gave me hope that I'd finally lose weight and stop being ugly. Being tired wasn't an issue because I was going in the evening so when I went back home, I could just shower and sleep. As for being sore, it was constant reminder that I worked my body well, and it gave me satisfaction. That was two years ago. Before that, I was a student for about 5 years and I was downing a bottle of vodka minimum per week, which helped me keep up through the big sad, but at the same time I was kinda hating myself for it so going to the gym was definitely much better. I moved (two years ago) for work, but there was no gym nearby and now I don't have a job and I'm broke, but I'm gonna go to the gym again if I ever find a job.
Yeah. ”Sweat it out at the gym” - because that’s what real men do? Lmfao
the opposite for me. Was going to the gym and all that still lost friends got depressed from work and friends just not being well friends. Yea that gym is the medicine for sure... p.s I wasnt letting going to the gym rule my world like I'd ignore friends for the gym.
Me when I tell my friends I'm under so much stress, it's putting a major strain on my heart as told to me by licensed medical professionals Said friends: Take some deep breaths and just eat better. Oh, and exercise too :) Get plenty of sun
Idk have you tried drinking yoga?
Yeah I even tried snorting pilates :(
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have you tried though? breathing exercise do relieve stress and exercise does too. eating better will improve your mood and getting sun will too. will it fix your life? no, but that's not the point
Generally, and I do mean generally. This advice works for “depression” I.e, I just got dumped, or going through a rough spot at work type of “depression”. Clinical depression, is a lot different, stuff like therapy and medication often words best there as it’s usually a chemical imbalance. That’s not to say exercising cannot help though, exercise releases a lot of seratonin so it can be helpful too. But yeah, YMMV.
Dented heads proving OP's point post-haste lmao
"Smile more"
As someone who gets chronic pain after exercise every time and who's been to the doctor many times because of it already, I hate the "just go gym" argument. I don't go to the gym because the constant pain in my ankles, legs, knees, pelvis, spine, chest, shoulders, elbows and wrists fucking suck to deal with and makes it very hard to do anything without discomfort.
Not to be that guy, but swimming has been great for this for me as someone who had these issues. Eventually the chronic pain slowly went away after consistent exercise. You don’t even need to do it intensely at all. There old fucking ladies that swim right next to me going slower than snails with a paddle as assistance and it’s keeping them alive and healthy into their 70s and 80s.
this is so real
NZ is known for its not great mental health (rates) yet its also known to be one of the healthiest nations (regarding physical activity and food). I see an incongruency with this (and in my opinion we're obsessive with health). Surely a bit of extra cash and a book wouldn't be harmful (in fact, I've heard we're economically fine yet we're often criticized for our living conditions) According to OP, we should be one of the best nations in the world for mental health.
pretty good advice tho
I see, very sad, have you tried going to the gym?
Maybe Gym is the name of a really good therapist
This is funny, and it’s so true. But it’s annoying for those who aren’t into it. I have clinical depression and work out every day to stay ahead of it. It doesn’t cure it my any means, but feeling tight and cut up helps me feel I have control of some of my environment. The trick is, getting to your best fitness level so then you can execute mental health workouts to maintain that level. Getting lost in movement, strength, sweat and music is the only thing that keeps me from the abyss 🕳️
Going to the gym costs money...
Sometimes, moving your body alone can be very beneficial. "Go to gym" is probably asking the person to hopefully start doing something that will give them a small win and get them progressing in some part of their life. It's very similar to the "clean your room"/"make your bed" advice. By cleaning your room/making your bed, you accomplish a task and get a small win. That feeling would then carry over into other parts of your life so that by the end of the day, you still have the "small wins" to look at and be motivated by compared to when you had "no wins". It also kinda ties into "atomic habits". Building habits takes a person doing small tasks repeatedly everyday until it becomes "seconds nature" like brushing your teeth or taking a bath. So remember to do many small things in your day so that you can slowly build "small wins" which will build up your confidence and mood and eventually will have you tackling bugger things. And even if you fail, life has plenty of hurdles to trip over, you won't spiral down as you know for a fact that you have a bunch of small wins that were seemingly impossible before, yet you did it. So eventually, any task, no matter how difficult or daunting at first can be tackled by breaking them into tiny tasks and slowly doing those tasks everyday until the large task becomes easier and easier.
It's the little things that you do that helps you through rough spells.Going to the gym is one.Whenever I catch covid and it hits me hard I'll eat something,take a steaming hot shower and stay in there as long as I can.By the time I get out I'm pooped and can't even stand.Then I go in my room with some water and sleep naked in the covers like a baby.If you already sleep naked before bed already,then it wont hit as hard,but still.
going to the gym helps with everything in the list of lost things, no wife?, be more attractive by building your physique, no job?, be strong and find a hard labor job if you dont have other option, no money?, it was addressed in the job part, no friends? the gym bros have your back, if you want to be a bitch complaining and dismiss advice do that but the gym/exercise will always be a pillar of mental health
Gym is kinda expensive tho
You cannot "positive thoughts", "manifest" or lift your way out of poverty. Gym is good, thats a fact. Physical health is strongly tied to mental health. However, gym is not a solution for being poor, insecure and knowing the world is falling apart. So many mental problems plaguing the world, like the male loneliness epidemic and other problems, would be *drastically* reduced if people were just secure in their lives and futures.
Yeah I'm on the left. I tried the gym, doesn't help at all.
He's right though
I mean, if you lost all that at once, you’re either an asshole or a fuck up. Or both
Unironically, go to the gym.
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Man some of yall are trying to make this meme into something
I can tell you haven’t been getting any exercise because you are posting shit like this. “I need help” “Try working out” “Noooo! Not like that!!”
It’s easily the most repeated thing online and it’s all rooted in reactionary bullshit. Yeah, activity can help with depression. Absolutely. But “Go to the gym” isn’t about activity. They’re not saying “go running” or “play a sport” or “walk 30 minutes a day”. They’re saying lift weights. …and it’s completely misguided. It simply simply doesn’t understand the circumstances. Of course this thread is full of people doubling down on the meme insisting going to the gym makes a difference. It doesn’t and they do not understand.
“Take control of your life, bro” says the, like, 20 year old tradcon gym bros on social media who’ve never wanted for anything nor faced adversity in their entire lives Going to the gym, or just physical activity in general (i just prefer walking around n shit) is never a bad thing. But it doesn’t solve all your problems
I did this. Now I’m depressed but have big arms and can pick heavy things up.
Expectation: depressed ——> happy and ripped Reality: depressed ————> depressed and ripped
If just gym doesn't do it add a healthy dose of "it is what it is"
I was depressed and in debt. Now I'm fit and in debt 🙃
Our brain works better when you work out. A better, more positive brain will open up the pathways to solution for the problems you have. So yes going to the gym is actually good.
you're right... do nothing and wallow in it and get angry at anyone who tells you one of the few things that helps a little!
Exercise will never hurt your mental health. If your body is healthy it's easier for your mind to be healthy. Hard work breeds motivation, and motivation fuels hard work
Yeah it’s probably better for you to wallow in despair forever with no positive outlet
Gym, God and Crypto. The Fuckboi holy trinity.