It feels pretty weird to me that people are almost programmed to recommend Therapy or Gym as the ultimate solutions.
Despite the fact that not all people are capable of doing both.
Further more, there is no study, as far as my knowledge go, that show any ultimate cure for depression. Matter of fact I had seen a study that suggest a very high percentage of people are drug treatment resistant (meaning that there depression would not get better with any prescribed drugs).
I had seen studies that say that training or even just daily walks can highly improve mood, but I had never heard that they fully cure depression.
Let’s take those in reverse order:
You basically answered this one yourself:
There is no permanent cure for depression. The best you can do is treat it. Getting out of the house for a walk, or to a gym, or just outside, seems to be a simple way to take the worst of the edge off for many people. But it’s not a cure, which leads into the other part.
There isn’t a universal one-size-fits-all treatment. A therapist can help find what works for each individual. Sometimes that’s changing destructive habits, or getting more exercise, or yes, pharmaceuticals (even then, there are lots of different types that work for some people and not others). Getting the best treatment often starts with professional help.
Untreated depression can be fatal. If there are physical limitations that prevent someone from being more active, and financial (or other) constraints that prevent medical care, there are support groups for depression and other ailments around the US (and I assume elsewhere): https://adaa.org/find-help/support/support-groups