Punch

I’m only speaking from my experiences, and that is that I have never been able to “punch” my way through MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) when at my lowest. I always need something outside of myself to help bring me back to a point where I can begin to help myself again. And this is because MDD needs to be recognized for what it is; as you call it unruly neurons, a disease of the brain, something which you alone have no control over. It is NOT the situational depression that everyone in this world will feel at one point or another for a myriad of reasons like a death of a close family member, the dissolution of a marriage, financial bankruptcy, a failing grade in school, etc… And I think the reason so many people misunderstand it is because of the word we use to describe it. Depression can be felt by anyone, but MDD the disorder that shares that word within its name means you can’t just “snap” out of it or bring yourself back through sheer willpower alone. Your brain is working against you, and you have to find ways outside of yourself to help fix the misfiring neurons and chemical imbalances that rob you of positive human feelings and emotions. Eating right, exercise, talk therapy, those and many others are the tools you learn to help slow the downward spiral that MDD puts you through, but you can’t do it all on your own. Your brain needs chemical assistance like medications and other therapies available (TMS, ECT, Ketamine infussions, etc…) to get you to the point of being able to do those things in your life again that a lot of people take for granted. Remission is possible, but understand that a cure has NOT been found. So it’s best to use every lesson, tool, medication, and therapy you have available to you, to the best of your ability. Again, I’m only speaking from experience, but if eating right and exercising were all it took I would have never fallen into my first episode of MDD in high school at my physical peak. I’m not saying any of this to be nihilistic. I just want people to have a realistic idea of the struggles involved with MDD, and to use all of the resources available to them. That being said, everyones body chemistry is different and what has or has not worked for me may be different for others. As the Buddha would say, do not take what I say as truth simply because I say it, but use it and discover its truth for your own.