Surprisingly I've found some stigma attached to it - because people can get "preachy" about exercise I guess.
Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
51–60 of 111 posts
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
You should require a permit to leave your house, since a lot of deaths and injury happen outside of the house. The permit would generously give you the freedom to go outside for your job + once per week errand run. 1 hr/month leisure excursions permitted with good behaviour. You know, for your safety.
Can you help me understand? Why does safety have to be all or nothing?
Isn't the alternative that people get hurt or die? And we want to prevent that?
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#53Personal experience: Exercise did not help with my severe depression. Out of sheer desperation, I started exercising and eating way better. My health improved significantly, dropping 75 pounds.. but the depression still remains. I was just as depressed after 6 months of daily walking (3-5mi/day) as I was before. Left the house depressed, returned home depressed. All that to say, I think IMO exercise can help improve…
The article addresses this.
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#54People do not discipline.
Why do we not treat this as an ill?
Much of it comes from the same place. Depression, ADHD, and many others affect our ability to concentrate and plan. When you are in those situations, long term doesn't matter - you are fighting to live in the short term. Part of using medication is helping to get those effects under control so that you can be forwarded looking and disciplined.
Simply saying "exercise more" to someone struggling with mental health is like telling a person who is bleeding to death that they should stop bleeding. Yeah, chances are they really want to, but they don't have control over it in the moment.
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#55Aren't depressions coming with side-effects like inability to do anything at all? The block is somewhere else to overcome before even thinking about exercise and the brain might have a good reason to block it (e.g. some local energetic/metabolic failure and the brain forcing a "safe mode" to prevent further damage). It's like telling to people with endothelial damage that exercise would do them good when in fact it w…
Any non hack psych will tell you to go outside and take a walk. Meds are a minimal solution
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#56I've always thought the hard cure to depression was to rip the person completely away from their lifestyle and give them an entirely new, physically active job, witness security program style.
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#57Around the internet you can find tons of people griping about GLP-1s, saying "diet and exercise make you lose weight, they have to, the First Law of Thermodynamics, etc. etc. How come doctors don't prescribe those?". And the answer is "diet and exercise are not a cure, they are a proposed treatment plan with a dismal success rate". To treat something as medicine, we want it to work in the real world of fallible human…
When I took up jogging, I had to force myself to. After a year of that, I suddenly realized I was looking forward to running and began to enjoy it.
I had taken up jogging before, but never stuck with it for very long.
I had an operation a couple years ago, and the surgeon told me I could not jog for six weeks. It was hard to wait that long :-)
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do we not treat this as an ill?
Much of it comes from the same place. Depression, ADHD, and many others affect our ability to concentrate and plan. When you are in those situations, long term doesn't matter - you are fighting to live in the short term. Part of using medication is helping to get those effects under control so that you can be forwarded looking and disciplined. Simply saying "exercise more" to someone struggling with mental health is…
> Simply saying "exercise more"
And this article is about not saying that, but giving them actionable guidance and (possibly) referring them to programs that can help (like how you might be referred to a nutritionist by your doctor instead of just being told to "eat better").
Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#59Exercise really is a wonder drug. The best of the best! If only doctors could prescribe it and have people adhere to the prescription. If only American culture weren't so car-centric and our daily lives involved some natural amount of exercising. We've built a society where only the privileged few can walk or bike to work. It's just too easy these days to barely move in our normal life. Drive to work, drive to the st…
There are simple things that add up: Skip the elevator and take the stairs. Park at the far end of the parking lot, not next to the door. When I run errands, I park at a central location and walk to the various destinations. When I meet a friend or associate, instead of meeting at a restaurant, I propose meeting at a nice area and have a walk & talk. It adds up.
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Re: Exercise works for depression. So why isn't it treated like real medicine?
#60One day, my psychiatrist had brought her new dachshund puppy to work, and she invited me to pick him up. He promptly licked all over my face and then fell asleep in my arms.
I joked to her that puppies beat SSRIs any day of the week, that she should write prescriptions to take to the animal shelter. And it's probably true! Unfortunately, I don't live the kind of life that's compatible with a pet.
Personally, I'm grateful that doctors mostly stay in their lane, although I would hope a good therapist might recommend physical activity to someone who needs it.
And as to what kind of exercise to recommend -- the advice I've heard is that the best kind of exercise to do is what you enjoy and will therefore stick to. Brisk walking three times a week for 20-30 minutes might work great for some people. But if someone finds that a tedious chore, they're probably not going to stick to it.