Correlation doesn't mean causation- V important! ❤️

[Vanilla-fvht]

Man, this one resonates. I wouldn't call myself depressed (I've never been officially diagnosed with anything) but sometimes life is just way too hard to handle, and though processed food does comfort me in the moment, I'd guilt trip myself so hard for even going near it. Guess I just need to remind myself that it's okay to not cook every single meal I eat myself :)

[ScarletSchema]

There’s also the fact that processed foods are much, much cheaper, and depression and poverty are also correlated.

[LittleBitOfTheWorse]

“Correlation doesn’t mean causation.” She is speaking facts.

[meghaffer]

Depression definitely takes energy away from me being able to cook meals from scratch. ADHD also makes it hard to plan and make scratch food. So when I am having a depressive episode, I am just happy if I can eat anything. I love that this is a judgement free zone.

[abigailcounts]

Yup! Correlation =/= causation. I’ve gone through a tough time where I ate a lot of junk/processed food because of and just to cope with depression, and it made me stop eating processed food for a while because I felt like it was so unhealthy. Then I realized that it’s okay to eat, as long as it’s for the right reasons :)

[albaavrora]

"do you like want to be depressed" is a wild way to start a conversation 😭

[thestarseeker]

This can be so true, I am bipolar and when I have a depressive episode it can be paralyzing to do a simple task, even making a sandwhich. I will reach for things I don’t have to think about. Not the best choices but I understand exactly what she is saying

[ella_cupcake]

I love this one. I have autism, depression, ADHD, and anxiety. All too often I’m told that the things are causing it when they are actually symptoms. Sure, sometimes those symptoms are bad coping mechanisms that lead a bad cycle, but they were never the cause. The cause is most likely just genetics.

[Bugs]

When I struggle with food, I remind myself of the saying "fed us best". It makes me feel less guilty about what I can and can't eat on those days

[RoselynDead]

It’s the same thing with being on your phone some older people thinks that it’s the phone that causes the depression but really more usage of phone is a correlation to depression because many people with depression use their phone as their distraction or one connection left to the real world and what’s happening around them
Depression can really only be caused by the content on social media hitting low self esteem Or cyber bullying but it isn’t the phone itself

[thatoneweirdkid]

i work at a houseless shelter and a lot of the people staying there are quite depressed bc of their situation. they are also mostly eating processed food bc it’s cheaper and easy to prepare without a kitchen. it’s always important to think really hard about statistics, especially when someone who doesn’t know much about a field uses a statistic to help back up their opinion about said field.

[KenikoB]

I have ADHD. I reach for the processed food because cooking takes too long, makes too much of a mess, and if I forget I'm cooking it gets ruined.

[omi]

I suffer from depression. It’s true I reach for processed food for comfort, and don’t think that it caused my depression by any means, however, one of the ways I try to feel better, have more energy, better sleep, is by eating homemade foods with whole, fresh ingredients. So while I believe highly processed foods don’t directly cause depression, having a healthy balance and incorporating whole foods has helped a lot with my depressive symptoms

[tatevs]

“Correlation does not equal causation”. This is something so important bc this is stressed a lot, especially psychology and it’s something my teacher says this A LOT in our class. Love this! ❤️❤️

[Random-----Ryn]

Hearing this message made me so happy. It's good to know that others truly understand

[Smiley.]

This reminds me of the study my teacher talked about, eating ice cream relating to drowning. Both happen in the summer a lot more than in the winter, so they look related, but they’re not!

[CassidyJoyner]

I mean… I guess everyone is different, but me personally I’ve noticed a huge difference in my personality and overall mood when I gave up processed foods for 6 whole months on top of weight lifting. For the first time ever I felt “fixed”. I never cried. Never had mood swings. Had endless energy. No more brain fog. Could think clearly. Even developed better social cues. As soon as I started intuitive eating (which sometimes means I want a big bowl of cereal) I’ve noticed I’m back to being hormonal, easily stressed, emotional, etc etc. I really don’t think this is a coincidence. People were saying they could see the difference in my personality in a positive way when I was clean eating, pretty much all Whole Foods with the exception of a few slightly processed foods (but were still nutritionally beneficial). Ofc I love quesadillas and corn nuggets too much to go back to extreme clean eating, but it was interesting to notice and everyone else notice a difference in me.

Naturally, this had me wondering if overly processed foods and refined sugars are linked to depression and other mental illnesses.

[lunariedawn]

Years ago, I lived in a place where we didn't have access to anything close to mcdonalds (as an example). And yet, I was depressed. I ended up eating loads of other types of food (whatever was available to me, really) because I couldn't find a way to make myself feel better so I turned to food as a coping mechanism. Which also caused me to gain some weight (along with other mental and physical conditions that are also known to cause weight gain).

Now I live in a place where I do have easy access to both mcdonalds or similar shops. I've had episodes of eating junk food several times a week when I've been really down as I don't have many ways to regulate myself and my emotions. Not to mention, it was either taking a walk to mcdonalds and get anything in my body or starve until I felt I had enough energy to leave my home. Making any kind of food at home was a big no.

Things are getting better now which I'm really happy about. But I still have a long way to go until I feel like my life is where I want it to be.

I also struggle with both adhd, autism and anxiety - to name a few things, which makes it a whole lot harder.

And for those who'll say "oh you're just lazy". No. If I was lazy, I would be enjoying myself. I am not enjoying myself and because of my illnesses it takes a lot to fix my current issues and lifestyle. Both in terms of time and effort. Am I moving at a snail's pace? Yes, but at least I'm trying my best.

[Kitten_Baker-art]

this is like that one tumblr post that said, "if it bites you and someone else dies, that correlation, not causation"

[kid-ava]

this is so real. as someone who is depressed most of the time (but great at hiding it), I love cooking for myself. but sometimes eating junk is truly the only thing that's easy, that makes me feel better and that I feel deserving of :(