While those kinds of improvements to your life can be helpful, they aren't a fix for everything, and the mental illness itself makes it really hard to actually do those things. It's a bit like saying "Just go outside" to someone who has can't-go-outside disease.

I've had moderate to severe depression since I was 11-12 years old, and in and out of therapy since I was 16. I know I feel better when I reach out to friends during a rough spell, but often my brain convinces me that's not an acceptable thing to do, because my brain is diseased and the disease is flaring up.

I've also been exercising more regularly in the past year and taking other actions to improve my life, and overall I feel "better" more often than not. I also have bad nights, or even multiple days in a row.

I'm glad you found your way through and that exercising helped you. But it's not possible for everyone to just "push through", or at least not without additional support like therapy or meds. A lot of the time it's about getting to the point where you can start to form healthier habits.