Workouts and depression
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I have major depression. For exercise to lift my mood, it has to be outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air. Indoor workouts don't seem to have the same effect. Hula hooping on my deck is good for helping with this.
I agree with this. Nothing made me feel as great as running in a nature reserve. Even road running doesn't cut it quite as well. Unfortunately, running doesn't agree with me, so I try to walk in the nearby parks, but its not as good. Indoors, its only very high intensity exercise that seems to affect mood. Moderate weightlifting/cardio doesn't do much for me.
I'm somewhat similar to this - outdoor trail running is one of the best things for my mood. I have noticed that if I'm already depressed or angry, weightlifting can exacerbate it, and I have to really be mindful to make sure I don't injure myself by throwing weight around indiscriminately because I'm pissed or dgaf (that being said, I do still lift when I'm depressed or angry but I have to be much more careful).
For me it really depends on the exercise - in addition to trail running (road running just pisses me off) I find high intensity cardio helpful in managing my depression and also my anxiety, especially kickboxing/krav maga - I have found nothing as cathartic as punching or kicking something (or someone).
But I do not have a diagnosis of major depressive disorder or bipolar, so my depression is very, very mild compared to many peoples'. I generally find exercise to be more helpful in addressing anxiety than depression, actually.2 -
I feel loads better after a workout. Never moodier.0
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It's only one piece of the puzzle. If the depression is caused by different hormones than would be created during exercise, then they wouldn't be balanced using exercise.
Could you get your doctor to check for vitamin D deficiency? Or other hormone levels (I am not sure what tests there are). Maybe B12 and iron as well. Ah, just get a whole set done where they check levels of everything!2 -
The best thing I ever did for myself, physically as well as mentally was begin eating healthy and exercising. I look better and I feel great.
Try it for six weeks. Do it every day and see if you don't feel better, too.0 -
I think everyone is different and it's hard to know exactly what someone else is experiencing.
I will say that while I prefer to continue exercising regularly because I know it is good for me and I generally feel good after finishing a workout, sometimes I find myself moody or annoyed about the fact that I have to work out 4 or whatever days a week every week forever. I mean of course I take breaks or will relax with it on vacation, I'm not obsessive, but kind of like our jobs, the foreverness of it can feel overwhelming at times.
I'm not sure if that is at all what you are dealing with or if it's something more chemical that is maybe caused by something you're doing while working out. But I really hate when people say exercise is something you learn to love, or you just have to find what you love. Anything that gives me a serious workout, is not something I will ever love! It is what it is.3 -
The best thing I ever did for myself, physically as well as mentally was begin eating healthy and exercising. I look better and I feel great.
Try it for six weeks. Do it every day and see if you don't feel better, too.
That's my problem. I've been doing it for 4.5 years, not 6 weeks.1 -
The best thing I ever did for myself, physically as well as mentally was begin eating healthy and exercising. I look better and I feel great.
Try it for six weeks. Do it every day and see if you don't feel better, too.
That's my problem. I've been doing it for 4.5 years, not 6 weeks.
It's not a miracle cure. I don't think it will cure actual, clinical depression or any sort of mental illness, but it gives many people (including moi) a lift and is worth a try.1 -
It's not the exercise itself but the feeling of empowerment, control, fulfillment and self-confidence from achievement that exercise provides that continues to keep me off of meds.4
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I think as a part of a plan to battle depression exercise can be helpful. I know it is for me, but exercise alone doesn't do it. Your depression may need medication as well, you may be helped by therapy. I know in the past all of these have helped me, probably the best help was therapy to start changing the way I was thinking and break the bad habits I didn't even know I had. Medication helped when I was really down to give me a boost up to better help myself.
There is no shame in not being able to do it all by yourself. Don't be afraid to get some help if it is persistent and you can't shake it. It really sounds like you are trying hard, you just might need a little hand.0 -
mommarnurse wrote: »It's not the exercise itself but the feeling of empowerment, control, fulfillment and self-confidence from achievement that exercise provides that continues to keep me off of meds.makingmark wrote: »I think as a part of a plan to battle depression exercise can be helpful. I know it is for me, but exercise alone doesn't do it. Your depression may need medication as well, you may be helped by therapy. I know in the past all of these have helped me, probably the best help was therapy to start changing the way I was thinking and break the bad habits I didn't even know I had. Medication helped when I was really down to give me a boost up to better help myself.
There is no shame in not being able to do it all by yourself. Don't be afraid to get some help if it is persistent and you can't shake it. It really sounds like you are trying hard, you just might need a little hand.
this and this.0 -
makingmark wrote: »I think as a part of a plan to battle depression exercise can be helpful. I know it is for me, but exercise alone doesn't do it. Your depression may need medication as well, you may be helped by therapy. I know in the past all of these have helped me, probably the best help was therapy to start changing the way I was thinking and break the bad habits I didn't even know I had. Medication helped when I was really down to give me a boost up to better help myself.
There is no shame in not being able to do it all by yourself. Don't be afraid to get some help if it is persistent and you can't shake it. It really sounds like you are trying hard, you just might need a little hand.
When you ask for help and can't/don't get any, then what? You deal with as best you can. I've had therapy and been on medication. I still have depressive thoughts and feelings.1 -
makingmark wrote: »I think as a part of a plan to battle depression exercise can be helpful. I know it is for me, but exercise alone doesn't do it. Your depression may need medication as well, you may be helped by therapy. I know in the past all of these have helped me, probably the best help was therapy to start changing the way I was thinking and break the bad habits I didn't even know I had. Medication helped when I was really down to give me a boost up to better help myself.
There is no shame in not being able to do it all by yourself. Don't be afraid to get some help if it is persistent and you can't shake it. It really sounds like you are trying hard, you just might need a little hand.
When you ask for help and can't/don't get any, then what? You deal with as best you can. I've had therapy and been on medication. I still have depressive thoughts and feelings.
You have to keep trying! I know it's easier said than done and even thinking about pursuing another doctor, another therapist, etc. is exhausting. But there ARE things that help! You just have to keep working at it until you find something.
Do you have a friend or family member that can help you with making appointments and seeking alternative treatment? That would help relieve some of your pressure.1 -
A lot of people don't understand that all medicine isn't going to work for all people. It took me going through a dozen different asthma medications before I found one that really worked for me.
Exercise as a treatment is no different. It may work for some cases but not all. If it doesn't work for you, you may have to rely a little more heavily on medications or other treatments than some people do to manage their depression symptoms. And that sucks just like my medication happens to be one of the more expensive ones sucks. Se la vie tho.0 -
makingmark wrote: »I think as a part of a plan to battle depression exercise can be helpful. I know it is for me, but exercise alone doesn't do it. Your depression may need medication as well, you may be helped by therapy. I know in the past all of these have helped me, probably the best help was therapy to start changing the way I was thinking and break the bad habits I didn't even know I had. Medication helped when I was really down to give me a boost up to better help myself.
There is no shame in not being able to do it all by yourself. Don't be afraid to get some help if it is persistent and you can't shake it. It really sounds like you are trying hard, you just might need a little hand.
When you ask for help and can't/don't get any, then what? You deal with as best you can. I've had therapy and been on medication. I still have depressive thoughts and feelings.
You have to keep trying! I know it's easier said than done and even thinking about pursuing another doctor, another therapist, etc. is exhausting. But there ARE things that help! You just have to keep working at it until you find something.
Do you have a friend or family member that can help you with making appointments and seeking alternative treatment? That would help relieve some of your pressure.
All my family wants to do is remind me to take my pills. As far as I've learned, I can only get an appointment with a therapist when I start acting on my thoughts. See, my depression isn't the stereotypical "I can't get out of bed and want to lay here". It's a lot of suicidal and self-harm thoughts along with me not really feeling emotions most of the time (aside from rage and food happiness). Exercise doesn't stop the thoughts. It just puts me in positions to easily act upon those thoughts.0 -
mommarnurse wrote: »It's not the exercise itself but the feeling of empowerment, control, fulfillment and self-confidence from achievement that exercise provides that continues to keep me off of meds.
I hike a lot, because I love mountains. There's on trail that's especially beautiful, so I do it every year, without fail. It's a long drive to get there, and a long dirt road to the trail. I've always wanted to ride it with my bike. I finally got the chance this spring. It was the most difficult bike ride I've ever done. According to Strava and Garmin, I made the first ascent of Cascade River Road by bicycle!! (Sadly, it wasn't a FA.)
The feeling of empowerment and self-confidence you describe can be a huge part of it. It can be kind of fun to impress other people, but that's nothing like the deep and meaningful things that happen when you impress yourself.
I still say there's intrinsic value in being outdoors, too, especially in places that look and feel more natural.1 -
I've found that I have to be in the right frame of mind before the workout. This may sound complicated, but if you're in a bad mood and you exert large amounts of energy, it won't boost it a ton. My solution to this is to only workout when you want to. If you're in a bad mood, don't force yourself. In addition to this, don't expect one workout to immediately make you feel better. While I understand that depression makes you feel desperate and urgent, be patient. Workout more intensely and more often and you'll notice subtle, gradual changes and upliftments. Good luck.1
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You're not alone. When I was depressed I got very sick of people telling me to exercise when it did nothing for me.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jun/06/exercise-doesnt-help-depression-study1 -
Interesting discussion.
I am a ballroom dancer. I find that dance does lift my mood. There is so much going on, I have to concentrate on what I am doing where I am going what I want my partner to do, who is around me. Then there is the music, nearly always uplifting, trying to hit the beat, on the social floor trying to get the figures to fit the music. The people, for me dancing is a social experience, the interaction with other people can be brief or longer, but mixing is always uplifting.
That is what dance does for me. I am not into gyms or exercise classes, I do like to walk, but definitely not running.
However it has to be what works for yourself. I like the interaction with people as well as the constantly different challenges that dancing throws at me, along with the music.2 -
In my experience, i have had to run harder, about 4.5 miles 4-5 times a week, in order to experience that positive shift in mood. Unfortunately, my lifestyle does not allow me to sustain such a schedule throughout the year. Light jogging of 1.5 miles 2-3 times a week may be better for me physically than being sedentary, but I no longer experience the so called seratonin uptake. But I try to supplement in other ways such as yoga, or taking kung-fu classes with my kid!
As someone else posted, I agree that exercise seems to be more effective in treating anxiety, but is not as effective in treating depression. Lack of sleep and stress can become a vicious cycle, but aside from human interaction and talk therapy, I would like to think that eating more plant-based foods and paying attention to my nutritional intake can only ease one through the process of feeling down.0 -
I'd strongly recommend listening to music while working out. Avoid listening to sad music, it'll make you feel more depressed.2
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