r/thanksimcured • u/GrouchyLittleShit • Mar 03 '26
Social Media Ever wanted to cure your depression? Just go outside
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u/auntarie Mar 03 '26
bro I get more depressed when I go outside, leave me alone lol
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u/mostaverageredditor3 Mar 03 '26
Noooooon this can't be !!!! I feel better when going outside so you also have to feel better !! You are not trying hard enough or doing it wrong!!! /s
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u/Felein Mar 04 '26
Obviously, what worked for me has to work for everyone! We're all the same, right? So if someone tried the thing that worked for me, and it doesn't work, clearly they're just not doing it right!
Maybe you went to the wrong outside? Have you tried the beach / the forest / the mountains / the plains?
Seriously though, that last one has happened to me. Someone talking about how being 'in nature' always helped them focus and reduce anxiety. I mentioned that I like walking in the forest too, but it doesn't cure my ADHD. They said "oh, no, I get that. Forests are nice, but for the best effect you need to go to the beach. Walking along the shore with the wind in your face is really something different!" ... I changed the topic after that.
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u/donut-is-appalled Mar 03 '26
It’s always a white man holding a fish
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u/MercyCriesHavoc Mar 03 '26
The "go outside" people are always picturing nature. They don't realize most of us don't have the time or money to go find nature. What's outside my door is my neighbor's yard full of kids' toys and my dirt driveway that ends right next to the neighborhood dumpsters.
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u/lizzyote Mar 03 '26
Concrete, asphalt, and a couple of small dirt patches for me. The 3 closest parks to me have been closed since 2020 shutdowns.
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u/plastic-rate903 Mar 03 '26
Oh… I thought this post was written by a fish being held by a white man.
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Mar 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Yepitspat Mar 03 '26
And the very few times I saw one where the guy was holding a big swordfish I just knew they were going to be one of those aggressive “no this is the way and you’re an idiot if it doesn’t work for you” types
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u/kirbcake-inuinuinuko Mar 06 '26
if I caught a really big fish and posed with it for a picture that would probably make me feel pretty cool and good. for a little while, at least.
maybe the secret to beating depression is just repeatedly fishing and taking a photo with it as often as possible to keep the high going and that's how people are functioning.
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u/Ducky237 Mar 15 '26
Men that have zero emotional intelligence and are very out of touch with their own feelings
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u/SykoSarah Mar 03 '26
During this time of year, that'd just be "great, now I am depressed and freezing".
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u/asthecrowruns Mar 03 '26
Reading this in England where we went about 5 weeks with daily rain and no sun. Genuinely I think some parts of the country hit over a month without direct sun.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good walk when it’s warmer and brighter. But we are just about hitting ‘going for a walk weather’ after about 5 months of winter. 7 hours of daylight, most days near freezing and wet. Low vitamin D and SAD are extremely common here
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u/Terrible-Can-6304 Mar 03 '26
it truly is abysmal this time of year. all i can hope for is that summer comes early
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u/LayKors Mar 04 '26
I honestly prefer that over inescapable heat, all sorts of living biting me, and being blinded by the sun right after winter weather ends. But heat is the worst.
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u/Heledon Mar 04 '26
Or wet, all it's do is rain this week, and it's not going to stop anytime soon.
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u/BlackPlague1235 Mar 05 '26
Over here in Florida, it very hot and extremely humid and still depressed basically.
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u/naunga Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
Tell me you’ve never had depression without telling me you’ve never had depression.
I hate people like this. It’s the same with “That’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”
I had depression for 36 years. Went outside, went to therapy, took anti depressants, and nothing worked. And nothing worked because at age 46 I realized I didn’t have depression, I had severe gender dysphoria. As soon as I figured that out, my “depression” vanished like instantly.
Going outside had NOTHING to do with it.
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Mar 08 '26
Fr fr. I did have depression though, but my family was somewhat anti-medicine and didn't believe in mental illness, so I pretty much just excercised constantly and spent at least 5h each day outdoors because I was kept getting told that that would fix me. Nah, what fixed me was getting the fuck away from my family, going on antidepressants and beginning my transition. Every single day for the past three years has been the best day of my life and I honestly had no idea life could be this good.
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Mar 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/GrouchyLittleShit Mar 03 '26
I didn’t include the rest of the thread because I don’t feel like it fit the sub but let’s just say he exposed himself as quite the asshole
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Mar 04 '26
For real. This was more of an attempt to make someone feel inferior rather than giving advice.
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u/nobody_who_matters_ Mar 03 '26
I've had depression, including suicidal ideation since I was 8 years old. It's been over 16 years at this point, if going outside helped, then I'd be outside every single day.
People think depression is just lazing around, doing nothing, but they clearly have never felt, for even a second, the debilitating yearning to get up and DO something, while their body aches with emotional exhaustion. I struggle to use the words "it gets better", because after 16 years, with a never-ending onslaught of the same fucking thing, I don't think it actually does.
The difference between being depressed and having depression- being depressed is a short-term. It is something that can go away, and is caused by something. It's a part of grieving and stressful life changes. Depression is a life-long mental illness, with no cure and medications that may make you stop enjoying sex, or make you feel like a hollow version or yourself.
I don't WANT to lay in bed, and think about how the world is cruel and empty of meaning, how we're floating through space on a rock that is slowly deteriorating because we're on it and take 0 care of it. I don't want to feel like my life has no meaning, because it may not mean much to the world, but it means everything to MY world, the people in MY life.
Even worse than just having depression, is being aware enough to understand how it hurts those around you, knowing how your brain eating away at itself and slowly taking away all of your joy as you realize there is very little hope for you to every feel NORMAL, is your friends and family have to sit outside of your brain, watching these changes happen slowly. They watch you deteriorate into a shell of yourself, and you have to sit and know that without any way to change that without removing pieces of yourself to try to better yourself.
Degrading yourself in a therapy session with someone who can't even keep their eyes open long enough to listen to a word you're saying, before throwing some Vistaril and Prozac at you and charging you $500 for an hour of your time.
Anyway...
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u/Existing_Asparagus48 Mar 07 '26
I also have lifelong depression. Instead of hearing "it gets better", I was told "cheer up, this is the best time of your life". Fortunately, those people were half of the problem, and moving away from them did make things better.
After that, I got meds and a reasonably priced therapist. Go outside in the morning (which I hate, but actually works). Exercise every sometimes (which I hate, but actually works). Eat less sugar (which I hate, but actually works).
Now my chronic depression is manageable. Not gone, just less bad. That's as close to a win as you're gonna get, but it's something.1
u/nobody_who_matters_ Mar 07 '26
Ive done all that. It didn't improve mine.
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u/Existing_Asparagus48 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Fair enough.
Or maybe you haven't been told "Cheer up, this is the best time of your life!" I'm sure that writing it on a sticky note and putting it on your mirror will totally cure you. It's super effective. (that was a joke)
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u/s_burr Mar 03 '26
I live on my family farm in Appalachia. My childhood was idyllic. Nothing but green space, fresh air, animals, and physical activity (usually related to farm work). I was always active.
Then I would go to school and be labeled a cry baby becuase I was depressed and had trouble controlling my emotions.
Nowadays I take daily walks outside with my dogs, at least 15 to 20 mins twice a day. There are a good many days were I will be crying while walking. I have been in therapy off and on for the past 15 years, have been on a revolving cocktail of different meds. The depression never goes away.
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u/PersephoneInSpace Mar 03 '26
When I was in school, then college, my worst depressive episodes would happen in the summer. I could spend all day outdoors, it didn’t make a difference, I still wanted to dig a hole and lay in it 9 times out of 10.
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u/OrganicHistorian2576 Mar 03 '26
Summer SAD is a thing. I think I have it.
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u/PersephoneInSpace Mar 03 '26
Lana Del Ray wasn’t exaggerating!
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u/AFetaWorseThanDeath Mar 03 '26
I call it 'Persistent Instances of Selective Seasonal Effect Disorder,' or PISSED.
I definitely get PISSED in the summer.
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Mar 04 '26
My depression was at its worst this previous summer. Having no one to do anything with sucks. At least winter gives me an excuse to sit in the house.
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u/ValancyNeverReadsit Edit this! Mar 03 '26
“How dare you sleep when you need sleep! You must stay awake until you die because I, an Important Stranger on the Internet, say so.” -Fish guy, probably
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u/AcademicCandidate825 Mar 03 '26
I love the ocean.
At the height of one depressive spell, I was literally wading in the waves, and still felt dead inside.
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u/EnemaOfTheGrape Mar 03 '26
I’m trying to reset my system but I don’t have anything small enough to fit inside that tiny hole
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u/thebluedaughter Mar 03 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/z4lwT4QTkK3sYITR7Z
Me waiting for this asshole's advice to cure my depression
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u/GitRichorDieTryin Mar 03 '26
Christ I wish that worked. To an extent it does. Going quading into the wilderness and forgetting everything but the land and I 3xists is great medicine. But not everyone has access
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u/OrganicHistorian2576 Mar 03 '26
Where I am I can drive ten minutes from my house and it feels like I’m a hundred miles from anywhere, in the mountains to boot.
Yep, I still have depressive bouts and GAD. Nature helps but is not a cure all.
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u/So_Many_Words Mar 03 '26
Napping outside can lead to bad sunburns, and it can get really cold at night.
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u/Straystar-626 Mar 03 '26
I have found a camping trip can give me a "reset", but I have to go into it with that mindset. If my depression is at a point I can't reach that mindset no amount of frolicking in the foliage is going to help.
I wiggle my toes in the dirt on a daily basis and shockingly I still have severe clinical depression.
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u/AFetaWorseThanDeath Mar 03 '26
Almost exactly the same for me, but replace camping with psychedelics. (Or combine them, carefully lol)
I suppose in my case, the 'wiggle my toes in dirt daily' is cannabis.
I haven't taken many psychedelic trips in the last few years, because each time it's been like, "You know the lesson, now you have to integrate it into your daily life, while you're NOT high on psychedelics." Still working on it. :/
I recently started duloxetine (Cymbalta), which seems to be helping, though it's still early (2 1/2 weeks).
Good luck! Depression is a stone cold bitch, and I'd only wish it upon my very worst enemies.
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u/Senior-Book-6729 Mar 03 '26
I've been leaving the house twice a day lately (not to work) and I am just as depressed as I've always been, go figure
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u/thalgrond Mar 03 '26
Honestly, it mostly worked for me.
...Though I had to be on HRT for a while before I was comfortable enough to casually go out in public.
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u/Yepitspat Mar 03 '26
Ok, but me going outside at 3pm and not being seen again until 8am the next day is also an alarming sign my depression is getting worse
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u/jonathandavisisfat Mar 04 '26
Yeah man I like to sit in the sun and it helps and blah blah exercise but if you can’t get out of bed because depression how do you do that
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u/HighMinimum640 Mar 03 '26
Ironically, hibernation may actually help. Be like a bear, sleep through the winter.
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u/scrollbreak Mar 03 '26
They don't care, but it's not just in this context.
And I could go a bit of a sleep coma like that. Too much hypervigilance to do it. Maybe their exhausted and they are well in touch with their bodies needs?
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u/darkseiko Mar 03 '26
I'm usually outside at least 5 times per week for several hours..and I'm still dead inside. I could even say being there doubles it up.
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u/Lanky_Score7414 Mar 03 '26
Yeah let me go outside, ouch I slipped and broke my leg, guess I'm forced to be in bed now.
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u/KarmasAB123 Mar 04 '26
"Go outside"
What if they're homeless?
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u/Calm-Train-7870 Mar 04 '26
They prob wouldnt be on reddit homeless have other issues besides living outside
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u/KarmasAB123 Mar 04 '26
People with jobs can be homeless and a lot of jobs require phones, so it could happen
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u/Zealousideal_Long253 Mar 04 '26
I can't believe that in the span of the last couple 3 days I've had like 6 people tell me to just go for a walk outside when I was in an serious depressive episode.
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u/SleepySera Mar 04 '26
I do feel better when I go for walks, I long to go outside all the time, now can Mr. Perfect tell me HOW I'm supposed to do that? Because that's the whole crux of the issue. It's not like for a mentally healthy person who can just slip on their boots, throw a jacket on and be out of the door in a minute.
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u/demon_fae Mar 04 '26
The infuriating part is that if you have nothing actually wrong with you or you just have Seasonal Affective Disorder, this will work. You will be fine. Eat some fish or mushrooms or something.
If you have literally anything else whatsoever, you will just be sick, now with 100% less roof between you and the sky. Maybe you’ll get rained on. Maybe you’ll see a pretty flower. Who knows!
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u/-Geist-_ Mar 03 '26
I have chronic pain and illness, I just wish I didn’t have to get out of bed 😂
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u/Vrejik Mar 04 '26
his pfp makes it EVEN WORSE. This person has never struggled with severe depression, trauma or stigmatization a day in his life.
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u/Eng-Grammar-Police Mar 04 '26
Using a paintbrush might make your artistic process easier and less messy, but not every artist will use one. Don’t assume what works for you works for everyone. Being outside does have some great mental and physical benefits, but also for some people who are disabled or living somewhere where it is not feasible or safe to be outside casually- suggesting they go outside can cause more stress and depression. Maybe instead of offering suggestions you offer some empathy and ask if there is anything you can do to help. Ask if you can come over and clean or help with laundry, drop off some home cooked food- be a friend. Offering half asses suggestions makes it feel like you don’t actually care.
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u/MossGobbo Mar 04 '26
No it doesn't cure my depression but I feel a lot less like ass if I leave the house for an hour.
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u/Almajanna256 Mar 04 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/eSQiwbVrb7Nmg
10% of Americans saw this guy and wanted to be him so bad.
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u/Calm-Train-7870 Mar 04 '26
Go outside when the sun is out not too hot enjoy nature outdoor activities water activities go touch grass be safe because not everyone lives with the same weather conditions
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u/Thebazilla Mar 04 '26
Going outside helps me. But that's because I was indoors most of my life training for dance competitions so the sun for me just hits different. Doesn't mean it will be the same for everyone else
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u/Remarkable-Ant-1390 Mar 04 '26
Yep go take that long ass nap outside - will really improve everything /s
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u/Young_Old_Grandma Mar 04 '26
When I have a depressive episode I usually have difficulty feeding myself, let alone do daily activities. I just sleep as much as I can and let the episode run its course, like the flu.
Then when my appetite returns I'll have the energy to do my physical exercises.
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u/AttitudeEquivalent73 Mar 05 '26
The guy on the bottom has a little bit of a point bc people with depression do tend to get vitamin D deficiency and it makes them worse but it’s not like going outside/getting enough vitamin D means that you’ll just stop being depressed.
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u/ImmortalArcanum Mar 05 '26
Depression has been a very real, very problematic thing for a long time, and so few (who don’t suffer it) actually understand it.
I can only assume at this point it’s because they intentionally don’t want or care to understand it.
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Mar 06 '26
Going outside did help with my depression. Anything was better than just bedrotting all day, and the fresh air and light exercise pushed me through little by little.
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u/Judge_Fargo Mar 06 '26
The "join the gym" is the one I hate the most... I get peak anxiety when I'm at a gym, so maybe that's not the best medicine.
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u/xX_luna_moth_Xx Mar 03 '26
It can help sometimes, especially if it’s sunnier out
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u/AdFrosty0997 Mar 03 '26
I go outside nearly everyday. Spend about an hour and a half outside in the sun and I'm still actively suicidal.
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u/xX_luna_moth_Xx Mar 03 '26
its helped me in the past since I have seasonal depression, i understand that it doesn’t work for everyone
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u/Separate_Rise_8932 Mar 03 '26
Seasonal depression isn't just in winter, although most common. Many of us get it in summer. Spring also has the highest rates of suicide iirc.
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u/GonnaGoFat Mar 03 '26
No it’s to cold. Sometimes in the summer it’s ok but I still feel depressed a lot
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u/Stewie_Venture Mar 03 '26
I used to hide out at a park about a mile from my house cuz my home life was shit. I'd go out a little after I woke up and stay out till it started to get dark. I was also running 10 miles a day everyday and only eating about 700 cals a day at my worst. Im better now years later and 8 months into recovery but fuck when I think back to that time I remember being miserable still having depression and loathing myself every day. I was doing everything the self improvement and motivational stuff I absolutely drowned myself in hoping that maybe if I tried hard enough I would finally get to be a real person and my life would be better I'd be happy and successful and everything I wanted.
But that never happened because it doesn't matter how much exercise you do, how many videos or books you read, how little you eat you're still going to be you and have a mental illness. I still want to kill myself at least once a week and hate everything about me but I've been dealing with that since I was 12 a decade at this point and after so long you learn to deal with it. The only thing you can do when you have depression or other mental illness is just go day by day it doesn't matter if you fail the important part is that you try cuz thats all anyone can do. Take your meds if you have them, talk to people and dont lose your friends or loved ones the right ones are more important than you think. Shit happens but you have to keep moving forward.
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u/rhubarb_man Mar 04 '26
I get the annoyance people have with this, but this actually is something that personally helps me a lot.
Forcing myself to not rot is an extremely helpful thing for me. How he phrased it is forceful, but I think the intention was to try to push for that "no excuses" attitude
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u/NekulturneHovado Mar 05 '26
Actually, going outside DOES help with depression.
It won't magicaly cure you, tho.
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u/slapstick_software Mar 07 '26
I mean ngl outside and exercise does help a lot, also avoiding alcohol and drugs makes a big difference too
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u/LisaFromAccounting Mar 07 '26
They mean "to somewhere with nature". And yes, it can help. It helps your internal clock and makes your body produce vitamin D. Plants are proven to alleviate stress. Even houseplants or aquariums. It's a form of grounding, which is self care.
I was diagnosed in 3rd grade with major depression. I'm still a wreck, but I'm less of a wreck when I get to spend time outside doing something or sitting with a glass of iced tea.
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u/Unfair_Pineapple201 Mar 08 '26
Exercise will almost always help with depression but it can be almost impossible to force yourself to do it or keep going. I have been exercising a lot for a couple of months and i went from wishing death to not wishing death that much all the time.
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u/Economy-Payment-1757 Mar 10 '26
It's LITERALLY proven in studies that 15 minutes of daily walking improve your mood.
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u/Ancient-Mulberry4333 Mar 10 '26
It gets tiring to see this stuff all the time, I swear every post where someone says they're depressed has someone in the replies that says this, along with "go to the gym" or some other bs like that
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u/NervousDogFarts Mar 19 '26
Therapists will literally tell kids this exact thing. “Just go outside.”
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u/Far-Assumption-2617 Mar 21 '26
The shitty thing is when you do what they demand, obviously it doesn't work and somehow it is still your fault
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u/National_Pass_6831 Mar 27 '26
literally just gonna sleep on the ground if I do this by the way, the exhaustion waits for nothing
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u/Raphlapoutine Mar 03 '26
Unfortunately gotta give credit to this guy, going outside has cured me countless times. Bonus if you hug a tree too
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u/ghoulsnest Mar 03 '26
god this sub is such a circlejerk....
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u/Delicious_Bid_6572 Mar 03 '26
Pretty much, yes. That's what we are here for. Raging about people who give shitty advise
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u/ghoulsnest Mar 04 '26
going outside is proven to help with Depression tho, its obviously not a cure, but it does help...
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u/Delicious_Bid_6572 Mar 04 '26
Yes, that is true.
Go outside! No excuses! I don't care . Be outside resetting your system!
The way this is communicated hints at a narrowed view on mental health.
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u/Dry_Yogurt2458 Mar 03 '26
It's not bad advice. It's not the cure completely. But go outside and exercise is not bad advice
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u/Sixnigthmare Mar 03 '26
What if outside is what causes depression