I don’t agree. Here’s a question to make you think
*hopefully* make you think
Oftentimes I’ll see influencers speak on things that they don’t quite have an empathetic grasp of. It’s a great way for them to reel in the engagement they so desire, but with the statements they make is a not so subtle form of shaming those who need to do certain things, like, say.. take medication.
“Everyone’s on SSRis and it concerns me,” read the post. And so ensued an alternative: diet and exercise. This *might* work for some, but when one does not have the fundamental chemicals they need to function properly and happily, is one going to eat a balanced diet and exercise in a healthy way?
If I’m depressed, I cannot get myself to make the meals that I do typically. It’s just not going to happen no matter how hard I attempt to will myself. A lack of serotonin is a powerful action inhibitor. Nothing feels fullfilling. Everything feels dull and dreary and without reward. And thus depressed and unmedicated me cannot make the same meals I do when I’m even keel and medicated. I’m not going to chop my organic potatoes and try to make the perfect fried egg to go in my morning farmer bowl. I’m not going to make the yogurt and berries and honey I eat with it. It’s just not going to happen.
If I’m OCD (and I am), I am not going to pursue diet and exercise healthily without medication and/or extensive therapy. A little tale about me: 22 year old me had severe OCD, was not on medication, and became so obsessed with diet and exercise to the point that she barely left her house for a year. “My appearance is just not ready yet,” I’d think. Time for another hour on the treadmill!
I could go keep going through disorder and disorder, but I know you’re smart enough to draw the conclusion I’m making. Pursuing diet and exercise without veering into dangerous territory is very hard for those who are chemically imbalanced. One cannot balance on shaky ground. I cannot will myself or pray myself or exercise myself into a regular person’s brain. Here’s hoping that makes you understand.
