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Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

sciencedaily.com

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Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#321

Post by unparagoned »

heavyset_go wrote: post #58
HauntingPin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also question the universality of it. No amount of exercise changed my depression or made life any less miserable. Anti-depressants finally helped me get past the trauma I was unable to properly process otherwise.

I'm a non-competitive athlete, and yes exercise can help depression, but no, it will not be sufficient for anything but your mild to average case of it. Exercise is a crucial part of dealing with it, but it is not a panacea.

Depression is an umbrella term that covers lots of underlying biological conditions.

Exercise forms the foundation of a biologically healthy brain which is required for all conditions. For some conditions it’s all you need for others it’s not enough

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#322

Post by WackyFighter »

wk_end wrote: post #304
WackyFighter wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Urban environments suck to walk around. What you wrote is utter drivel. If one needs to justify it by quoting authors, that suggests it isn't self evident and they are just trying to justify something that they know isn't good.

What an unnecessarily hostile comment. "Utter drivel"? I was talking about how I personally feel. Am I just imagining enjoying the things that I enjoy? Writers have, obviously, written about how walking in nature is nice. Does me saying that now mean that walking in nature is awful? Maybe you're doing other people a favour by staying away from them, sheesh.

> What an unnecessarily hostile comment. "Utter drivel"? I was talking about how I personally feel. Am I just imagining enjoying the things that I enjoy?

No it isn't. Anytime you make an fairly straight forward statement on any website you get some unnecessary contrarian response.

There are a bunch of downsides to doing any sort of outdoor activity in an urban environment. That is just a fact. It is noisier, often there it nothing to look at, repetitive (in a bad way) etc. etc.

Therefore I would not recommend walking as a form of exercise in that environment as the vast majority of people wouldn't enjoy it.

Whimsical writings by 19th century French poets aren't relevant to those facts.

> Maybe you're doing other people a favour by staying away from them, sheesh.

What an unnecessary comment to make. I never said anything about what you are like.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#323

Post by WackyFighter »

tailspin2019 wrote: post #308
WackyFighter wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Urban environments suck to walk around. What you wrote is utter drivel. If one needs to justify it by quoting authors, that suggests it isn't self evident and they are just trying to justify something that they know isn't good.

What a bizarre response.

Not at all. It was a contrarian response.

Walking in an urban environment is generally not very pleasant. It is often repetitive (in the bad way), noisy and there is little to look at. It the reason they often carve out space for parks and commons.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#324

Post by WalterBright »

mm351206 wrote: post #306
WalterBright wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe regulation is the answer. As I get older, I've become increasingly skeptical of any information coming from the government.

But somehow information from corporations is good and we should let me do whatever?

Your inference does not follow.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#325

Post by browningstreet »

skywhopper wrote: post #126
browningstreet wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you eat poorly, those foods will not satiate and the "hunger" (it's not the hunger of a body starved of calories) persists. Eat for sustenance and the hunger you may feel will be different. I also know that if I overeat, I have a strong urge to keep feeding (more chips, more pizza, more chipsahoy). Whereas when I eat a proper meal, I'm fine when the eating of that meal ends.

I hope you realize that what works for you and your body doesn’t work for everyone. Your experience is not universal. Your body chemistry and genetics are not universal.

We can argue about whether or not punching yourself in the face will hurt, universally and for all, or we can acknowledge that arguing about this is picking the wrong level of information with which to take issue.

Kids often still need to learn that punching yourself in the face hurts.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#326

Post by gehsty »

arpinum wrote: post #195
gehsty wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apologies - one of the very few great things left in UK is the NHS and my diagnosis was free and my prescription is £9/month. I take sertraline (Zoloft in the US I think) and that is cheap - $20/30 month.

You would pay less than £9 in the USA for 1 month of sertraline.

Maybe so, but I also cut m finger quite badly on NYD, I went to an urgent care centre had it looked at, x rayed and dressed and some antibiotics. The next day I had an appointment with a consultant and then went in to surgery to have it inspected to see if I had cut the nerves or tendon (thankfully I had not), had it swen up dressed, and a follow up appointment to have the dressings removed and final check. All at no cost.

The £9 is for the administration of the prescription - if th drugs are super expensive heart medication or whatever, it would still be £9 (or free).

I stand by NHS being the only great thing we have left.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#327

Post by Forgeties79 »

nradov wrote: post #264
blandflakes wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also pretty insulting to assume that everything is equally easy for all people.

No one is assuming that. Everyone has their burdens. But gradual improvement is always possible.

Your prior comment makes it sound like you assume it’s generally just about willpower and that external factors aren’t generally an issue. Is that accurate?

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#328

Post by gehsty »

scosman wrote: post #43
gehsty wrote: post #19

If it helps anyone I take antidepressants and have had a positive experience with them. Depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance and no amount of exercise or talking about it will fix it. One of the most frustrating things when your really low is people giving advice like do exercise to feel better - please don’t do this.

Exercising can help. It's not bad advice or inappropriate to suggest it. People shouldn't suggest it as if it's a cure all and certainly shouldn't suggest you just need to buck up, but the study is showing it can really help. Context: I'm "using" SSRIs, talk therapy, psychotherapy, strength training and endurance training -- all in parallel right now.

It can be inappropriate depending on where the person is, when I was diagnosed I could barely get out of bed. Feels a bit like telling an anorexic person to eat something.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#329

Post by gehsty »

dns_snek wrote: post #125
lowdownbutter wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my diagnosis was free As long as you don't factor in your taxes.

Do you think they're stupid and just don't realize that they pay for it with taxes? You're not factoring in the most critical piece of financing - the mental burden. You don't want to be stuck figuring out how to get enough money to pay for mental health services when you need them the most. That's when your earning potential is at its lowest, and every minor obstacle to getting help gets magnified ten fold. That may…

For me I think the quality and type of care is different when there’s no profit centre - it’s just people looking after people.

Re: Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

#330

Post by jimnotgym »

andy99 wrote: post #299
jimnotgym wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to leave the house for work at 7am. I get back sometime between 6 and 8pm. When I get back I'm mentally and physically shot. I mean, yes I could get an easier job that pays less I suppose, lose the house etc.

You should try doing 1/2 hour of exercise after you get back. It will make you feel way better, especially mentally.

That sounds like a good plan, thanks. It made me think an exercise bike right where I change from work, would make me remember to actually do it!

Thanks again

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