Exercise and Depression

aokoye

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

How often do you exercise? I am in a research class in psychology and have chosen depression and exercise therapy for my research topic. From the research papers I have went over exercise does seem to help but it needs to be at least five days a week. Aerobic exercise seems to be the best for depression but a small amount of people were even able to get benefit from yoga.

From what I understand too (from research I've read, not from my own anecdotes), it's only been found to be effective if the person with depression has mild to moderate depression. Again, I haven't done anything even close to a lit review on this, but it's pretty easy to find peer reviewed studies stating this if you have access to institutional journal subscriptions (which I'm assuming you do).

SeptemberFeyre

aokoye wrote: »

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

How often do you exercise? I am in a research class in psychology and have chosen depression and exercise therapy for my research topic. From the research papers I have went over exercise does seem to help but it needs to be at least five days a week. Aerobic exercise seems to be the best for depression but a small amount of people were even able to get benefit from yoga.

From what I understand too (from research I've read, not from my own anecdotes), it's only been found to be effective if the person with depression has mild to moderate depression. Again, I haven't done anything even close to a lit review on this, but it's pretty easy to find peer reviewed studies stating this if you have access to institutional journal subscriptions (which I'm assuming you do).

Yes, that's true although exercise has also helped major depression along with anti-depressants. The participants who added exercise to their anti-depressant regime were usually more successful than those who just took anti-depressants alone.

1BlueAurora

See your doctor. If you've just lost 20 pounds (270 to 250) your medication dosages might need to be adjusted. I'm no doctor, so my opinion isn't necessarily the answer for you. With regards to how exercise helps my depression, it's not necessarily getting endorphins from running or taking a Zumba class, it's the feeling that I accomplished at least one thing today. Getting off the couch, putting on workout shoes, and getting out the door might be the most I do that ends up giving me a little dose of pride.

talkinghead86

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

aokoye wrote: »

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

How often do you exercise? I am in a research class in psychology and have chosen depression and exercise therapy for my research topic. From the research papers I have went over exercise does seem to help but it needs to be at least five days a week. Aerobic exercise seems to be the best for depression but a small amount of people were even able to get benefit from yoga.

From what I understand too (from research I've read, not from my own anecdotes), it's only been found to be effective if the person with depression has mild to moderate depression. Again, I haven't done anything even close to a lit review on this, but it's pretty easy to find peer reviewed studies stating this if you have access to institutional journal subscriptions (which I'm assuming you do).

Yes, that's true although exercise has also helped major depression along with anti-depressants. The participants who added exercise to their anti-depressant regime were usually more successful than those who just took anti-depressants alone.

I would think many people with severe depression would very likely need medication as they'd probably struggle to get out of bed, achieve everyday tasks, etc.....so yes -- it makes sense that mild to moderate depression/anxiety can or would benefit from exercise most days out of the week ....but what and how much of what you're consuming before (or even after) that workout session plays a role too.....

either way, depression really sucks /:

aokoye

talkinghead86 wrote: »

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

aokoye wrote: »

SeptemberFeyre wrote: »

How often do you exercise? I am in a research class in psychology and have chosen depression and exercise therapy for my research topic. From the research papers I have went over exercise does seem to help but it needs to be at least five days a week. Aerobic exercise seems to be the best for depression but a small amount of people were even able to get benefit from yoga.

From what I understand too (from research I've read, not from my own anecdotes), it's only been found to be effective if the person with depression has mild to moderate depression. Again, I haven't done anything even close to a lit review on this, but it's pretty easy to find peer reviewed studies stating this if you have access to institutional journal subscriptions (which I'm assuming you do).

Yes, that's true although exercise has also helped major depression along with anti-depressants. The participants who added exercise to their anti-depressant regime were usually more successful than those who just took anti-depressants alone.

I would think many people with severe depression would very likely need medication as they'd probably struggle to get out of bed, achieve everyday tasks, etc.....so yes -- it makes sense that mild to moderate depression/anxiety can or would benefit from exercise most days out of the week ....but what and how much of what you're consuming before (or even after) that workout session plays a role too.....

either way, depression really sucks /:

There are also a fair amount of people with depression (severe and not) who aren't helped by medication and people with treatment resistant depression.

lilithsrose

Exercise does nothing for my depression. Even when I was going to the gym on a regular basis, I felt no different. My biggest depression symptom is constant fatigue. Going to the gym makes me even more tired. I do plan on starting to going to the gym again this week, but its always an uphill battle.

CSARdiver

For me it helps. It is merely something right and good that I could not have completed, yet I did. At the end of the day I can look back and sleep soundly knowing I did one thing right and good.

I suspect despite the symptoms found within biochemical responses, hormones, etc. at the core of depression is loss of a sense of purpose. The path to wellness may be as simple as finding something good where one can influence others in a positive manner.

OooohToast

hello OP. I had depression in my 20's and tried to manage it through diet and exercise which didnt make any difference. In fact, this helped my Dr diagnose and prescribe AD's with confidence. The AD's helped, largely by getting my sleep quality and duration back on track. That being said, once off the AD's I do think the exercise and diet helped me feel even better. The depression essentially supressed everything. I want to encourage you to take one day at a time and be kind to yourself - I hope the dark cloud lifts soon for you. x

estherdragonbat

Okay. My cat ran away last week. Still don't know where he is. I was out of town; came home as soon as I could to look. And for the first few days, I felt like I was going out of my head (anxiety flare-up) coupled with lethargy and misery (going to call this one self-diagnosed situational depression). I did find that until I could get home and start searching, etc., taking long walks helped me calm down. BUT

1) I have mild anxiety issues and
2) I do not suffer from clinical depression.

So in my case, yes exercise helped me keep it together temporarily (until I could actually do something constructive), but that's with relatively minor issues.