Depression and Anxiety can hit anyone, anywhere, at any time. For multiple reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. A chemical imbalance in the brain, not a "choice". Those who have never experienced the extremes of this illness have no right to judge and give half-assed "advice". Leave it to the Professionals who know what they are talking about.

I really hate stupid people. I had to "break up" w/ my best friend after she refused to stop saying things to me along the lines that depression was a choice and suicide was just a selfish thing. She knew very well that I myself struggled w/ it AND had just lost a close family member to suicide!!! On the other hand she constantly posts on FB about how soldiers need all the help we can give them to avoid their suicides! My loved one was a veteran! It was all I could do not to post some screenshots of her comments to me! I'm in a good place now. Losing her was a great choice!

"Depression is a choice/Why are you depressed, your life is so great" is like telling someone with asthma "Why do you have asthma, there's plenty of air in here!" People forget that perpetuating stereotypes behind mental illnesses can actually f*****g kill people.

Depression can be paralyzing. Sometimes it's hard to get yourself out of bed, let alone leave the house. And I have been called "lazy" for that.

I'd rather say, taking up w/ depression and choosing life over suicide, over and over again even though it seems unbearable sometimes, is a decision. A really tough one at times. If you're lucky not to be affected just don't judge. Ever.

I have horrible anxiety. am I supposed to stop being f*****g scared? Skydive from up in the clouds and not scream because fear is a choice? Just stop having a panic attack in 5 seconds? Sweet baby Jesus Christ on a bike.

It's great when idiots, who have barely lived yet, dole out s**t like "depression is a choice". You don't know a god damn thing about anything. Just sit there and be quiet.

Oh gawd how I wish I was able to "choose" to not have a depression :/

Ignorance is a choice. Shitposting is a choice. That woman made both those choices with her comment.

Trust me, if depression and anxiety were choices, I’d have picked the other options. Depression/anxiety is not just a feeling, but a genuine mental state. It’s been proven that the brain is physically different in those with depression. Your brain has an illness, just as your heart or liver might have, and it takes time to heal. It may not heal at all! The best one can do is cope. Yes, there are things to make a person feel better, but at the end of the day, one’s depression is not cured. (Just know that, if you struggle with depression, there is always something to live for, no matter how small it is. Who will feed the cat? Who will give a passing compliment to that girl with the pretty bracelet? It’s hard, but you can keep on chugging.)

Dear Andy, thank you, thank you for speaking out. I hold you my highest regard. And, dear A$ia, I'm interested in your opinion -- where did you do your research? I envy you for all the work you've done with your NARSAD grant!! I'd love to read your dissertation!! Who is your favorite neuroscientist?? It's great that you devote so much time to your volunteeer work with the suicide hotline in your area. If you'd like to expand on that you could devote your life to volunteering at hotlines around the world to help the millions of people who are choosing depression!!! Okay, so bye A$ia -- oh, one more thing: you must be comforted to know that ignorance and arrogance in all forms and shapes -- and that includes people with dollar signs in their names-- seem to have some kind of evolutionary function -- so when you finish your research and land that professorship please let me know what the answer is because I see it all around me, every day, and it should end now, don't you think????

No one chooses to be depressed, but plenty of people choose to be a******s.

America doesn't recognize that there is a thing called mental illness or any of the various diagnosis that fall within that discipline. I have been so down on myself, so trapped in my own head, beating myself down that I cannot leave the house. I've called out of work because of it, and felt horribly guilty about it all day long. My mom is all about, walk it off. bumped you knee? Walk it off. Broke your arm? Not even a flesh wound. That horrendous Kidney Stone at age 13 - constipation, just keep walking and drink prune juice. Spend every day imagining what it would like to finally not be in pain, not hear any noise, not have any responsibility, not have to walk anything off....but I just keep going. For now.

You are strong for speaking out for the voices who are afraid to. -good job and tank you for fighing

Depression is a mental illness. Diabetes is an illness. Both have many causes. They also can both be managed and that is our responsibility. Take the medication, paricipate in treatment and try to think and do things that will help. With depression, sometimes, someone can be in so much dispair that there is no will to manage it. I agree that depression is not a choice. Why would I chose 45 years of depression. I felt happy once and I hope to feel that moment again. I'd like those who judge depression to just go through a small episode, then they might understand. Empathy is hard to learn.

Depression is a choice? How can people be so stupidly insensitive? Nobody would ever choose to be depressed. But you can choose to be a d*ck - or not be one.

That’s like saying cancer is a choice. It is not a choice, it is a sickness-sickness meaning your body functions in an abnormal way. According to that post, ignorance isn’t a choice either smh

I'm depressed and on disability, and it sux!! Nothing makes me happy or interested. I'd like to travel and make friends but I don't feel motivated to even bother anymore. Just feel sick all the time.

Depression is something that took me a looooooong time to understand. I used to have the same problem others have understanding it. What those who have little experience with depression need to understand is this: Depression is a broken leg. Depression is a knife wound. Depression is a medical situation that is just as serious as anything you would react to if you could see it. The problem is the person looks fine and isn't bleeding so you think there is nothing wrong. But -you- are wrong. The person with depression is suffering. They can't control it. The chemicals in their brain are not balanced like yours and this affects them. It affects their behavior. It affects their mood. It affects everything. It is not easy for you to deal with their depression and so most people's response is to treat it with dismissive ire and claims of lunacy. If you love someone with depression, get them through the wave and then you will be doing the right thing to help.

Definitely have some depression issues

Depression isn't a choice. Depression isn't being sad, mad, or upset. It's not eternal sadness. It's the feeling of nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one seems to understand that. Why doesn't anyone understand that depression isn't a choice? Why doesn't anyone understand that the words, "just be positive" don't help? WHY?

This is my version of Depression, I had a really hard life as a kid and have suffered with it all my life. I to think that death may be a better option but I have others to think of I.e. my wife my kids and my Grandkids. I wouldn’t want them to have the stigma of my Death haunting them, so I stay alive , but I feel that one day I will momentarily forget them and end it all..... A person who suffers with Depression is the Bravest Person in the world because every day He/She has to battle between taking their own Life and not having to suffer the misery of living with the Sadness of staying Alive just to appease those who say they need them and can't live without them. But as the saying goes Life goes on. I live with this quote from Sue Townsend. My dark secrets are life threatening. Pockets of unhappiness set in aspic that build and build. I have this primitive feeling that if something good happens, it is going to be followed by something bad. There is always a price to pay

To that Twitter poster a$ia, developing and understanding is also a choice. Something she should try.

Stop judging people, period. You never know what battle they're fighting..every.single.day. Even getting out of bed feels like a small victory. For those with depression, it's not simply a 'sad' feeling, it's an overwhelming, oppressive cast over everyday life. You just battle on.

My son basically cut me out of his life when I had an anxiety attack while down visiting him. So I have not been able to see my beautiful grandchildren. For years. He says it was a guilt trip. It was in response to how he was getting angry at me, and I, having PTSD from my abusive father, slowly got wound tighter and tighter, waiting for that other shoe to drop.

Depression is not a choice. There can be any number of reasons one experiences it. For me, it was my body not working correctly. When the physical issues were dealt with, the depression disappeared. People would come up and ask me why I wasn't trusting God, of all things, that I was sinning---and all it was, was a hormonal imbalance and nutrient deficiencies. I learned how judgmental and narrow-minded others could be and determined I would never be that way towards anyone.

Listened to a well known audio book. The author kept saying "you are responsible for your own anxiety or depression. You choose to be unhappy." For some reason I listened all the way to the end and it never got any better.

You can tell it was a 13-year-old spoiled little girl that said that. Probably never experienced real loss or sadness her whole life, but nature is cruel and still gives her the judgmental gene.

I suffer from panic disorder. Which is sometimes a living hell when it flares up, leaving me with the strong feeling that I'm going to die, that I'll have a heart attack right away. I can't breath, I feel like I'm about to faint, and I just can't deal with anything. The thing I hear the most about that ? "Come on, you're not dead. It's only in your head, man up". F**k you, people.

Andy's comments are accurate to describe my 57 years of dealing with depression. It's a relief just to hear a fellow human articulate the experience...we are all in this together.

It's not a dumb website if historical revelation is made on it to the aid of humankind. It's just a tad unfortunate that so much pain must be provoked to shed insight on epic human experience, but this trauma we live has always been our greatest teacher, inventor, and tormentor. Thanks for the energy you spent for the insight Andy R.

Behind door number 1 is a lifetime supply of happiness, smiles and joy. Behind door number 2 is a lifetime supply of crippling sadness, uncontrollable grief, unexpected anxiety. Now everyone lets see what contestant Andy chooses...... I think I'll choose ..... door number 2!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Seriously, if anyone was given this choice, I'm sure we'd all pick door number 1!! How flipping ignorant can some people be; it's a choice; pffft!! People choose to be an a*****e and that can be changed, but nobody chooses depression over anything!!