[bearmode]

Doctors literally do recommend exercise as a first port-of-call, but that only works if you're suffering in a fairly minor way.

More serious depression makes getting up and exercising impossible. When I was dealing with it, some days it was a mountainous struggle just to get up and put some food in the microwave. It took all of my energy, for the whole day, to do just a simple task like that. The idea that I could have got up and gone for a run or do something else like that is absolutely laughable.

SSRIs gave me back the energy that depression took from me. Only when I started taking them could I start being sociable again, start going out more, start exercising again.