It’s pretty tough to exercise or clean your house when getting out of bed feels like an insurmountable task.
Depression isn’t like an infection or cancer—it’s a diagnosis based on established criteria, as are most mental disorders. Experts may disagree on diagnosis or treatment, but that doesn’t make it useless.
By that logic, you might as well say autism is caused by avoiding eye contact—since there’s no blood test for it either.
Ahhh this explains a lot. You should learn about internalized ablism, and probably stop teaching vulnerable humans the same, under the guise of "emotional regulation".
Did somebody else tell you that your emotions need to be regulated this strictly? Did you learn that if you express your emotions you won't get any help? That is not a normal situation to be in.
I understand, but I can assure you that I don’t expect an autistic person to force eye contact with me—especially when it drains their energy. Insisting on that would be wrong.
I’m not opposed to people pushing themselves a little, but we can’t expect anyone to become “fixed” by trying ever harder. That approach wastes energy, is unrealistic, is non‑inclusive, and is simply cruel.
If you think people with depression, ADHD, or anxiety should just push through their symptoms to meet arbitrary social expectations—expectations that are fundamentally ableist—you’re not doing anyone a favor. In a world that’s becoming less ignorant and more inclusive of neurological differences, that attitude will only alienate you, as this thread clearly shows.
> In a world that’s becoming less ignorant and more inclusive of neurological differences, that attitude will only alienate you, as this thread clearly shows.
What an off-topic threat to try and get someone to pretend like they agree with you.
Depression isn’t like an infection or cancer—it’s a diagnosis based on established criteria, as are most mental disorders. Experts may disagree on diagnosis or treatment, but that doesn’t make it useless.
By that logic, you might as well say autism is caused by avoiding eye contact—since there’s no blood test for it either.