If I wasn’t such a hardcore cyclist, things would be much harder to detect how they impact me in ways I can determine. Basically everything I have taken for depression and pain (from a major chronic spinal injury) only impact my psychology and reduce how much I care about issues. They do nothing to address the core problems. I have a lot more control over my metabolism based on endurance activity. I also have several techniques I use to measure my cognition like a few games that I keep track of for average puzzle completion times. I was on Adderall long before I was disabled. It is the only thing that is a net positive and helps me focus past tremendous pain and stay curious even after a decade of social isolation. I have felt better after getting off of every long term pain and psych med. For psych it was rather limited and just this past year being the 10 year of disability, turning 40, and my primary caregiver going though some troubles that left me existential. I didn’t even see a proper psych for that one. I just told my primary doc and got some Bupropion for a couple of months. I feel a drunk like haze with pretty much all downers. I’m really susceptible to downers in general. Like the few times I smoked cannabis I’m figuratively paralyzed for the rest of the day and can feel the lingering effects for weeks. I’m ADD not ADHD.

But yeah, I pretty much always feel better with no meds versus meds. I also always treat with exercise first, but my situation is weird and depression is totally circumstantially motivated for me.