Depression is Fake, Just Get High on Dopamine!
I didn't think we'd deal with this in 2018, but here we go. Nicole Arbour claims that depression is all in your head. Congratulations, Nicole Arbour. You understand basic anatomy. Depression isn't rocket science. It's neuroscience. Not only that, displeasure with life and chemical depression can't be resolved with just amazing technology. There needs to be, in both respective cases, a sense of purpose in moving forward with all of the amazing technology or a form of that technology to treat the underlying chemical problem.
Her main premise is that we can change our brains and, while that is true, some changes are ones that we cannot will into existence without a bit of help whether that help is interpersonal or chemical. While antidepressants work for some people and not for others, there are alternatives available to us now, such as other types of antidepressants, hemp oil, talk therapy, mindfulness, and aromatherapy. Not only that, with the help of people like @psyentist, we might be able to use psychedelics in the treatment of depression.
Her Ritalin comment also rubbed me the wrong way because, while a misdiagnosis of ADHD can sound like pill-pushing, it often goes unnoticed in girls because they tend to display different symptoms that might be mistaken for personality traits like being ditzy or chatty. When a boy is bouncing off the walls, a girl staring out the window might go unnoticed. It is often said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and when it comes to ADHD, that definitely holds true. With that said, it would help to dismantle some of the stereotypes around mental illnesses in order to get more accurate diagnostic criteria to treat them appropriately.
While building positive habits can't cure depression, they certainly help in managing and living with it. Certain types of media can definitely be a trigger that makes symptoms worse, but that doesn't mean that they cause depression. Not only that, her comment on how our inner happiness is mostly determined by ourselves has no bearing on chemical/clinical depression. It's like saying that you can choose to be gay, bi, or trans. You can still manage your feelings and cultivate your sense of purpose while still dealing with a mental illness like depression.
From the overall content, I think Arbour is confusing general discontentment with clinical depression. While anhedonia is a common symptom of depression, general discontentment can generally be fixed through one's own willpower. Her comments about using dopamine as a fix for depression are actually dangerous as this can lead to dopamine addiction. which is similar to drug addiction. After bursts of dopamine, one's dopamine receptors need more and more to replicate that sensation, which can actually worsen depression in the long run.
Lastly, her comment about depression being beautiful is one side of the coin with the other being stuff like Tumblr's glorification of mental illnesses and Blue Whale. While I'm glad that she managed to better herself (or not) without medication, this advice could actually kill someone. Certain thyroid diseases (like Hashimoto's disease) and heart conditions can mimic mental health conditions and, especially if not given the proper treatment, these conditions can kill. That makes Arbour's advice especially troublesome for people who suspect that they have (clinical) depression or anxiety.
Sources and Photos:
https://childmind.org/article/how-girls-with-adhd-are-different/
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/root-causes-of-depression-and-hashimotos/