anyone else using exercise to as an antidepressant?

I use exercise in the same way

:happy:

Yes, I do! I find upping the exercise intensity helps and for me only running works, nothing else seems to get an endorphin flow. The elliptical is useless!

I agree about the D3 that Paul recommends. Also vitamin B6 & 12 seem to help.

I found exercise helped too . . .

I also use exercise as an antidepressant, and as long as I am exercising I find that I am fine. Maybe making a change in your exercise routine will help? Do you do things outdoors, indoors, or both? As mentioned, if you're in the northern hemisphere (as I am) with the shorter days it gets a bit tougher-this time of year is always bad for me. I struggle with school, eating, etc. And I get in a bad cycle of not exercising because I'm too tired/busy/etc and then because I don't exercise I feel more tired and down and it spirals worse and worse.

I find that posting pictures of myself and friends doing all the activities I love around my place helps. Is there something you have always wanted to try, but haven't done yet? Now would be a good time to try it. I find the rush of trying something new is really helpful to me as well.

Do you do any volunteer work, or have you considered doing any? That is something else that I find helps me, I am involved with a couple of groups and also am on our student society. SPCAs and other shelters are often looking for dog walking volunteers, that would be a great way to commit to some exercise and even social time, with the added benefit of having to be accountable and helping out

What the other poster said about going outdoors is also very relevant - for vitamin D try and make sure you are outside with your hands and face/head uncovered for about 30 minutes per day, it doesn't have to be sunny.There are a couple of studies my dr recommended to me to read that are about the benefits of exercising outdoors rather than indoors for treatment of depression.

However, I'm not keen to have my hands uncovered! Those headbands are good for having your face/head uncovered when it's freezing though as your ears don't freeze.

Good luck.

Exercise is not only great physically, but it keeps your mind busy. If it helps you lose some weight in the process then thats just a bonus!

I started walking in order to overcome depression. THEN I started losing weight.

The long walks help clear the head. Just come from my first Body Balance class (Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi) and I feel like "what problems ?"

Yesterday I was down about something else I that turned around through positive self-talk (and prayer).

My best walks were the long ones (45-50 minutes minimum) to a few hours.

I can't comment personally on running or high-intensity.

I exercise just as much for my mental health as for my physical health. I'm in Michigan and the dark winter days are starting so I find exercise very helpful.

As others have said, I would try switching up my regimen if you find it not working as well. Maybe take a class so you're working out with and meeting other people? Spinning, yoga, aerobics, bootcamp... Classes can be fun!

I am medicated for mine, but now that fall/winter is here, I can start hiking.

I don't know about others from AZ, but for me, my depression in summer is worse, I think because of the heat and I can't do much in that kind of heat. But now I am exercising more, I am hoping to get it under control without meds.

I do take a multivitamin daily and I take b&c+iron and that helps as well.

I need to. I am starting to. I know that a lot of my depression stems from how I feel in my body and how I feel about how I look. I have this cycle of depression...feel bad about my weight, get overwhelmed, eat, gain, repeat. I know that if I start working out on a regular basis I would not get overwhelmed as much and the rest of the cycle would fall apart.

However, my weight and health affect the other areas in my life that contribute to my depression as well. I feel like a bad mom because I am too "tired' (aka lazy) to play for more than a few minutes at a time with them. I feel like a bad wife because I never feel sexy...which leads to nothing (if you know what I mean) which is bad. I feel like a bad domestic engineer because my house is always a mess...one of the many ways I procrastinate is eating....I actually convince myself that I am hungry to avoid doing the dishes. Funny thing is, eating makes more dishes.

So I am going to work on myself through exercise. Hopefully, I will start to feel not so overwhelmed about taking on the other aspects of my life as time goes on. Long road but it'll be worth it, right?

Yes, you can get out of the vicious circle you're trapped in right now. It will take some iron-willed determination. It's very difficult to make time for yourself when you're a Mom and a wife. Try to find a few minutes of "me" time each day. Start out with small goals and small successes. Baby steps. And post your progress daily to MFP. You will see an improvement.

What you have done already is confessed your darkest secrets and feelings about self esteem, motherhood and partnership. Great work! I am usually a motivated person but got into a funk last winter. A great co-worker called while I was riding the couch not able to figure out why I was crying and feeling unmotivated. She said "If you had diabetes you would take insulin, if you had heart disease you would take medication, so your brain is out of balance.....get some help". I am not a person who believes in easy fixes...but I took the advice and have been able to "take the edge off of life".