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Unfortunately, it's all too common for people with depression to be told to exercise more, get more sunlight, or find some other solution aside from medication. The thing is, if curing depression were that simple, nobody would be depressed.
That's why this meme, which contains a picture of a peaceful forest with the caption "this is an antidepressant" and another of an actual antidepressant reading "this is shit," is so obnoxious.
In a viral Facebook post, a woman named Jenni Chiu explains the problem with shaming people for taking antidepressants.
"I find the top part of this image to be absolutely true," she admits. "Meditating outside, breathing fresh air, taking a break from the blue light of my electronics — that all helps my brain and body tremendously."
The bottom part, however, is more problematic. "There were several years of my life where I was on a cocktail of meds (Prozac was one of them) and they literally kept. Me. Alive," she says. "Depression and anxiety are mental ILLNESSES. Not all illness can be cured with fresh air and sunshine. Sometimes chemical imbalances in the brain need to be supplemented."
May is mental health awareness month, and one thing we could stand to be aware of is that mental illnesses are in fact illnesses, not bad moods that can be cured with a walk outside.
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