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No, exercising for an hour once a week won’t cure your fucking depression
It’s really not that easy
by Katie Way
There's a study circulating online right now that indicates that just one hour of exercise a week could help stave off depression, or even prevent it entirely.
The results of this 11-year-long study were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Tuesday, and quickly received widespread media attention.
ScienceAlert
Well+Good
The Telegraph
The Australian
On the one hand, it's great that we've got further scientific evidence that links exercise with lower rates of depression and the alleviation of depressive symptoms.
But the framing of exercise as a cure-all for depression is ultimately harmful, because it perpetuates the idea that depression is an illness with one simple solution.
The truth is that depression is a complicated disease, and treating it varies on a person-by-person basis. To suggest otherwise is extremely irresponsible, and can actually make things way worse.
For people who suffer from depression, "get more exercise" is just one of a litany of suggestions offered by well-intentioned friends and family members. Other Depression Cure Greatest Hits include "drink more water," "try writing about it," and "get a boyfriend."
But what about when none of that works? When the salves that are guaranteed to "cure" or "prevent" depression inevitably fail for some of the people who try them, those same people are left wondering if they're incurably broken.
Even insisting that someone who suffers from depression has to get on meds ASAP isn't really helpful — medication regimes can take a long time to get right, and in the meantime side effects can be debilitating, from weight gain to an increase in suicidal tendencies.
Ultimately, the best way to talk about treating depression is to deal in the realm of "could" instead of "should." By approaching the topic with the understanding that the treatment for depressive symptoms is different for everyone, publications and people alike can avoid alienating their peers who are already hurting.
One hour of exercise a week isn't going to do shit.