I saw two articles from the same site recently that emphasize the point that mental health struggles are not easy to fix, despite many internet resources claiming they can cure your anxiety and depression if you just did “this.”
Let’s grab the headlines for starters:
- New study casts doubt on loneliness as a cause of many diseases
- Mental health issues are a common phenomenon in elite sports, Dutch study finds
In the first study, they took a deeper look at loneliness as a cause of mental and physical health issues and found that loneliness alone doesn’t explain many health issues. It may accompany an issue, contribute in small ways, and won’t help anything, but hanging out with people more often is unlikely to heal your ailments.
In the second, we are reminded, yet again, that people who get plenty of exercise can still struggle with their mental health.
Being more social and getting some exercise can help people feel better about themselves and improve their mental health struggles. It won’t fix everything, and we must stop pretending they will. If elite athletes can struggle with mental health, we can’t go around stigmatizing people dealing with depression as lazy folks who need a good workout, and we can’t tell someone who’s introverted and struggling with anxiety to meet more people and expect that will cure them.
It’s likely not going to cure them any more than a day in the grass would heal bipolar disorder or hallucinations.
That also doesn’t mean they are worthless endeavors. Having close connections and getting some exercise in nature are, generally, good things.
They aren’t a replacement for solid mental healthcare, though. Our mental health is a little more complicated than that.