From a therapeutic perspective anxiety is easier to treat with CBT. There have been many studies that show this. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3263389/ — here’s a fairly good meta-analysis.

The problem is that anxiety and depression often have comorbidity — so while CBT might be able to fix social anxiety, performance anxiety, or generalised anxiety — it is less effective against complex trauma, personality disorders or PTSD, all of which might fuel depression.

I could teach Miss Osaka the skills she needed to rewire her brain not to get anxious at speaking to the press — it might take a couple of weeks. However, that is only true if her anxiety is somewhat standalone. If that anxiety is part of a more complicated package of other mental health issues, then the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention decreases.

Mental health should not be trivialised — but we must also be aware that some of the easiest strategies in our arsenal are ones that are most frequently ignored. Good sleep, good food, a decent amount of exercise and clearly defined boundaries. We must also be very very careful not to inadvertently reward behaviours that are maladaptive — this can include over-helping. Someone with BPD for example would relish becoming dependent on the kindness of strangers.

It’s a fine balance and not a simple or trivial one at all. The Osaka story is excellent for seeing that balance in action.