Exercise

Keep Physically Fit!

It is a must for us who are and who have been depressed. My walking not only restores harmony to the body, but it restores my self-esteem and self-confidence.

The Sixth Way To Leave The Prison Of Depression: An Excerpt

One of the major areas to remember when someone says that they are depressed is to recommend that they get some physical exercise. So many times when we find that we are depressed, feel listless and lacking energy we tend to recoil from any activity that attempts to force us out of our isolation and inactivity. At one time in our lives, any task or type of activity, even the smallest might have been cause for happiness and a continual life of productivity. When we are depressed, we just want to lie down and sleep. We feel that we have no mastery over our life, thoughts and future. What we forget is that this is the nature of depression. We believe that there is no use in getting active because we just can’t get the energy to attempt anything that requires positive response. No use to get active –I won’t like what I am going to do anyway. When we are depressed, we know that our body’s metabolism slows down and we lose interest in almost all those hobbies and activities previous to our depression, which brought us happiness.

Mastery is what we regain when we force ourselves to get out of bed, get going and start an exercise program on a regular basis.

Our lives might depend on it.

Source – Believing Is Seeing: 15 Ways To Leave The Prison Of Depression – Copyright © 2014 Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville, KY. Pages 33-36.


Exercise: A Natural Anti-Depressant

In the early 1800’s, Americans regularly turned to a book written by Scottish physician William Buchan for medical advice. In Domestic Medicine, Buchan prescribes this pithy remedy for melancholy:

The patient ought to take as much exercise in the open air as he can bear. A plan of this kind, with a strict attention to diet, is a much more rational method, of care, than confining the patient within doors, and plying him with medicine.”

Today, general practitioners in the UK may write a prescription for exercise. “The evidence base for exercise as a treatment for the depression is quite good, said Andrew McCulloch, executive director of the Mental Health Foundation, a London based charity that has been promoting this alternative. “It also reduces anxiety. It’s good for self-esteem, control of obesity, etcetera. It has a broad spectrum effect.”

In terms of the short-term efficacy as an antidepressant, studies have shown that exercise produces a “substantial improvement” within a few short weeks, that its effect size is “large,” and that 70 percent of all depressed patients respond to an exercise program. “These success rates are quite remarkable. “German investigators wrote in 2008. In addition, over time, exercise produces a multitude of “side benefits.” It enhances cardiovascular function, increases muscle strength, lowers blood pressure, and improves cognitive function. People sleep better, they function better sexually, and they also tend to become more socially engaged.

Source: Whitaker, R. Anatomy Of An Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, And The Astonishing Rise Of Mental Illness In America. (2010, 2015) New York. Crown. Pages 344-345.

We believe that what we think, what we say, and what we do impact our depression. We believe that depression can be managed by applying the principles of the 12 Steps. All are welcome!