Yeah, that helps. Stability in cash-flow can mean the difference in the ability to plan shopping and grabbing a burger off the dollar menu or a handful of chips that were on sale for 65c a bag. Processed foods often keep better, so you don’t have to worry about food waste. As long as I remember to roll and clip the cracker bag, it’ll keep until I eat some more in a week or so. Veggies, not so much.
Also, when you can afford a healthy diet, you can usually afford other things that help with stress. It all works in feedback loops.
Even the act of cooking can have psychological effects. Hell, as others pointed out, the very knowledge that you are doing something “good” for yourself by eating “better” can make you feel better and less guilty about yourself, which can help lift depression. Novelty, too, may play a part.
What I hate about things like this is that they are too often used as cudgels against people who are suffering. “It’s your own fault! Look at the crap you eat! You clearly don’t care about getting better.” Meanwhile, the depressed person would love to do more, but it takes energy that they just don’t have. Cooking healthy takes a lot of energy and effort, things that aren’t always in abundance when you are depressed.
