Anti-Depressants- How I Gained My Weight

I'm just wondering about the natural anti-depressant drug known as exercise. Does that at all help? have any of you experienced feeling better through exercising?

I've never been chronically depressed but I imagine that getting up to exercise would be virtually impossible in the really chronic phases. But I'm just wondering about the effects of it when one isn't as depressed anymore. Is it a good way to start weening oneself off the drugs?

Speaking from experience and professionally, exercise is a HUGE antidepressant.

You are correct though, for somepeople who can't even get out of bed, speak, eat, or function in any way...exercise isn't going to happen.

The caveat is that depression largely affects motivation, so to get motivated enough to exercise is a huge hurdle for most.

Exercise inevitably helps someone with depression feel better because it increases the "feel-good" chemicals in the brain/bloodstream.

However, the medication issue is separate from the exercise. It doesn't work that way...you don't exercise, feel great, and then wean yourself off meds. It's much more complicated and individual than that. As I've stated before, medication is often needed long-term, even when someone is feeling well. They often feel well because of the medication, as well as other factors, such as therapy, diet, exercise...the list is different for each person.

My advice, you don't have to take it or agree with it, try to change your life without taking these drugs unless you absolutely have to. This is one of those cure is worse than the disease situations.

My advice, you don't have to take it or agree with it, try to change your life without taking these drugs unless you absolutely have to. This is one of those cure is worse than the disease situations.

^^ That may be true if you just need some therapy to deal with a difficult life situation, but it sounds like you've never had severe depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Otherwise, I don't think you'd say the cure is worse than the disease.

Situational or clinical, real or imagined, what's the difference? Either way, it still doesn't just go away. It's something that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.

^^ I don't understand what you mean. With proper treatment, depression can and does go into remission. I guess the cure could be worse than the disease if your disease is mild and your treatment side effects are bad. In that case, I wouldn't want the drugs either. But if your disease is extreme and severely restricts or threatens your life, and you don't suffer any noticeable side effects, or if the side effects are manageable, then how could the cure be worse than the disease?

I mean: how is clinical depression any worse than situational depression or vice versa?

^^ One is NOT worse than the other. There are different treatments for different kinds of problems. Situational depression generally has an identifiable trigger or underlying cause. Sometimes it's reassuring to know that there's a reason for your feelings and it helps to work through it. Chemical imbalance can happen seemingly randomly and for no reason. It's scary to experience emotions that are out of control and have no reason for why it's happening. Both types of people suffer, yes. Medication may or may not be the appropriate treatment for situational depression. Talk therapy alone may do nothing for a chemical imbalance. Please don't say that the cure is worse than the disease if you don't know what other people are going through.

A situation is an event, usually traumatic. Therapy alone doesn't cure situational depression if the depression is exasperated by post traumatic stress disorder.

Which anti-depressants are "weight neutral"?? I started on Lexapro for depression and anxiety about 5 years ago and gained about 50 lbs. Lexapro works pretty well for me, though, and I'm reluctant to try anything else...