depression and excercise

widmer · Silver Member Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 239

I know that everyone might feel sad from time to time. I think my problem is bigger then that, because I have prolonged feelings of sadness and hopelessness. I realized it is depression and I need treatment. My doctor suggested drugs accompanied with psychotherapy. He said it would be so much better if we include and exercise, so I want to know if that is effectively for depression treatment.

guire · Silver Member Joined: 09 Sep 2001 Posts: 295

Depression is complicated illness which involves a number of contributing factors, such as genes, environment, diet, lifestyle, personality, brain chemicals and psychology. Research showed that the most effective treatment is combination of antidepressant drugs and psychotherapy. Some recent researches suggested that regular exercise may also be effective way to lift a person’s mood. Average is that depressed people have exercised about half as much as people who are not depressed. This lack of cardiovascular fitness puts depressed person at increased risk of heart attack. For explaining therapeutic effect of exercise on depression we use a lot of factors important to human’s health. First, the person experiences a self-esteem boost by taking an active role in their own recovery. There are some very good forms of exercise for depression that are social events, such as team sports. Physical activity burns up stress chemicals like adrenaline, which promotes more relaxed state of patients mind. Enjoyable bout of some exercise might be distracting enough to break the vicious cycle of pessimistic thinking and help with depression.

Guest · Guest

I have long suffered from both and anxiety and depression. I find the most rewarding exercise to help my anxiety is cardio. I personally use the elipitcal machine at my gym. It provides a no-impact but full body workout, making sure all my mucles get some attention. Persnoally, the majority of my physical anxiety manifests in my shoulders, arms and chest. The lipitical offers you the ability to focuse your efforts on either upper or lower body so I focus on the upper, making special effort with my shoulders.

I would also try to to find a gym with tvs or radios mounted on or above the equipment. These provide a great distraction from neagtive thoughts and will acuallyu make the workout pass by faster. Sometimes I will try to focus my attention on areas of my body or muscles that are strained, they are easy focus points. Another trick i do is to monitor my breathing, just focus on the exhale and inhale.

I hope these tips help, see what works for you.

depression and excercise

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