Using Exercise to Relieve Depression

Walk Away from the Blues

-- By Dean Anderson, Fitness & Psychology Expert

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The idea that regular exercise can improve symptoms of depression and anxiety is not new. Hippocrates was the first Western physician to prescribe this treatment 2,500 years ago, and doctors have been recommending it to their patients ever since. All the evidence accumulated by modern science says it works. If you suffer from major depression, exercise probably won’t be the only treatment you’ll need, but it will help along with your treatment plan. Whereas medication and counseling can take weeks to work, you can start feeling the positive effects of exercise right away.

Anti-depressant medications that affect levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and norepinephrine appear to reduce the negative feelings and thoughts associated with depression, as well as many of the physical symptoms, such as changes in appetite and sleep, fatigue, muscle tension, and soreness. But people react differently to medications, seeing changes in some areas but not others. Some don’t respond to these medications at all. Exercise can enhance the benefits of antidepressant medications, and even produce similar results.

Research shows that exercise:

Positively effects the same neurotransmitters that antidepressant medications target
Produces feel-good brain chemicals called “endorphins,” which promote the sense of well-being and satisfaction
Releases tension in muscles that contributes to depression-related soreness and insomnia
Reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, relieving feelings of anxiety and agitation
Raises body temperature, which appears to have calming effects

In addition to these physiological benefits, exercise can promote the following psychological and emotional changes:

Distraction. One of the most debilitating effects of depression is that it causes you to focus on what’s wrong and dwell on the negative. Exercise compels you to focus on something else for a little while. With the right approach, it can help you find some pleasure in a sea of apparent troubles.
Confidence. The hopelessness, helplessness, and fatigue that come with depression often cause people to withdraw from normal activities and pursuits, leading to a loss of self-confidence. By setting and meeting a goal, like a small amount of exercise each day, you can begin to rebuild confidence and self-efficacy.
Self-respect. As people sink deeper into withdrawal and inactivity, they begin to feel useless and worthless, and may even come to despise themselves. They may resort to substance abuse or other self-destructive behaviors to manage these feelings. Exercise can provide a positive alternative to these negative coping strategies. Taking the time to do something positive to help yourself every day can help you reconnect with the part of yourself that wants to be healthy and productive.

But if you’re already depressed, exercising may be the last thing you want to do. You may feel fatigued and pessimistic, thinking that exercise won't be able to help you. These thoughts are normal for people with depression, part of the "mental battle" you'll face when considering a fitness program. Here's how to overcome them.

Choose Sides
You can overcome the mental and physical inertia that often keeps you from doing what you can to help yourself. The first thing you have to do is to decide whose side you want to be on–your own side, or your depression’s side.

This sounds like a simple and obvious decision, but when it comes down to putting on those sneakers and actually doing something, it may require a real leap of faith—especially if you’ve tried to start exercising in the past and failed. Depression causes you to dwell on how badly you feel, how hopeless everything seems, and what an undeserving and pathetic person you are for not being able to do what you need to do. These feelings and thoughts may seem more “real” and “honest” to you than anything positive you can say to yourself.

When you’re struggling against an opponent as powerful as depression, you need to know your enemy and its weaknesses. Use this information to choose effective strategies and fight back. Because the most troubling symptoms of depression are emotional and cognitive, people often forget that how they think and feel is directly related to what’s going on chemically in their brain and body.

Find a way to distract yourself from those thoughts just long enough to get your exercise session started. To do this, remind yourself that those negative thoughts are your depression talking, not the part of you that wants to be healthy cares about what happens. When those negative thoughts creep in, stop, take a deep breath, and make the decision to be on your own side this time, even if you don’t think it will help.

Move Into Action
Now you know why exercise is so important in managing depression, and what it can do for you. But how do you get started, when simple things like taking a shower, getting dressed in the morning, or doing the dishes seem like more than you can handle?

The answer is: Just do it! Remember, you’ve already decided that you’re going to be on your own side. This is where you make that decision mean something. The issue here isn’t whether or not you can muster up the willpower to make yourself exercise—it’s about giving yourself a fair chance to see if it can actually help you.

To make this easier, here are some suggestions to help you get the most out of your fitness program:

Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
Find activities you enjoy (or that you enjoy when you’re not depressed). It could be walking the dog, playing tag or basketball with the kids, going for an easy bike ride, walking to the grocery store, working in the garden—anything at all. The last thing you want to do is make exercise seem like another thing you “should” do. You want it to become one of the highlights of your day.
Set reasonable goals. You don’t have to commit to 90 minutes of intense exercise every day. Research indicates that at least 30 minutes per day results in maximum depression-fighting benefits, but you don’t have to start there if that seems overwhelming at first. Start with any duration and intensity level that you're pretty sure you can easily manage on most days, and go from there.
Identify potential problems and barriers in advance. Create a “Plan B” to deal with them before they happen. If your biggest problem is letting your depression talk you out of exercising, think about what’s different about the days when that doesn’t happen and figure out how to make that happen more often. If you need someone to give you a little push sometimes, find an exercise buddy or someone you can call for a pep talk when you need it. If you normally like to exercise outside, but the weather is fickle, line up some alternative exercises you can do at home.
Prepare for setbacks. Regular exercise isn’t always easy or fun. It's common to allow one missed workout to confirm all the worst things you think about yourself—that you’re a hopeless failure, or that nothing works no matter what you do. The best defense against this kind of depressive thinking is a good offense. Give yourself full credit for the times you manage to do the exercise, and especially, the times when you manage to get right back to it after missing a session or two. Keep a written record of these times, with some brief notes about how you felt afterward, and look at it when those negative feelings arise again.

If you're like most people who struggle with depression, believing (and doing) most of the things listed here is going to feel a little unnatural and uncomfortable at first—especially if you’ve dealt with chronic depression for a long time. But if you can manage to make the leap of faith it takes to believe things can change for the better, the results will prove that your efforts are well worth the work.

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About The Author

Dean Anderson
Dean Anderson has master's degrees in human services (behavioral psychology/stress management) and liberal studies. His interest in healthy living began at the age of 50 when he confronted his own morbid obesity and health issues. He joined SparkPeople and lost 150 pounds and regained his health. Dean has earned a personal training certification from ACE and received training as a lifestyle and weight management consultant. See all of Dean's articles.

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Member Comments

KIWIBIKER

While exercise does make a huge difference to my mood there's the counterproductive side if you are naturally competitive - I'm not as fast, have less stamina, less skilled than other people my age doing the same activity. Rather than being inspired by those who can do what I can't I get dispirited. I have to deliberately dumb down my activities so that I don't get overwhelmed by what I can't do - it helps if I'm on an equal footing with those around me. It's cheating but it seems to have a less negative effect. - 3/10/2013 1:39:38 AM
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SADWHITEWOLF

I will say that exercise did help me get through a MAJOR depression last winter. The problem is that it is hard to make yourself to it when deeply depressed. Heck, it's hard to brush my teeth when derpressed. Still, if I can manage to convince myself to do it, it really does help. - 1/30/2013 8:26:37 AM
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DJAY06

Thank you. Concise information that is spot on. Just do it and you will feel better each time you do. Soreness will subside as you get stronger.
- 9/5/2012 2:04:26 AM
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NAOLEE

Great article. I 'm a person that have to deal with mu depression and my son's and he is bipolar and other mental health condition. First what help me dealing with depression is my family. I don't get a lot of episodes of depression now. With my son it's very difficult to help him because he has others conditions. We try to do the best for him. I'm the one who give him the medications; but he tried to kill himself a lot of time and that is the real dealing.
- 9/3/2012 3:58:20 PM
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AJLSINGER

Good article, except for grammatical typo:
"Depression causes you to dwell on how badly you feel"
should be
"how bad you feel"
It's that you feel bad, not that you're bad at feeling. - 3/30/2011 7:24:15 PM
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SOULAD

This article is very well written and points out all of the different levels that affect a person dealing with depression. I must say that your circle of friends and family need to support you through this difficult time. It does get better with time. - 12/27/2010 10:40:49 AM
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NOLAGIRLIE

Great article! As someone who has struggled with depression for most of my life, I know that every sentence in this article is dead on. I'm lucky enough to have a psychotherapist for a mom, and a good friend who is a psychiatrist. They have both helped me to treat my depression medically, mentally, emotionally and physically. I've recently started a walking routine with a neighbor, and have paid for yoga classes ahead of time so that I will be more motivated to go. One of the hardest things about depression is making yourself get up and do things. It really helps to have family and friends to support and encourage you. I'm now making a real effort to use exercise as a tool for mood enhancement. - 9/14/2010 12:24:16 PM
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MANXMAG

Thank you, Dean, for this excellent article. At last something which tells me something I haven't heard before about depression. I knew about the exercise but I had never thought of depression as being the enemy, a separate entity, not just me being grumpy. I do walk a lot but allow negative thoughts to take over far too often during those walks. Taking my camera has helped enormously - a diversion.

Now I shall focus on defeating this monster. It's stolen my self respect and my joy in the things I used to love. It puts destructive words in my mind and mouth and has been winning for far too long. I am very good at covering it up to others and sometimes think I have a split personality: happy, capable public face, miserable, disorganised private face. Dean's article has made me realise that the latter isn't me, it's the monster taking over. Well, I'm glad to have this challenge (makes a change!) and will make sure I take my side in future.

Good luck to everyone on this battle with depression.

- 9/5/2010 3:43:13 AM
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KATHJOD

This article has made me think and given me a foothold. I will be on MY side from now on. Thanks! - 4/17/2010 8:20:27 AM
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DIANEMOSLEY

I have dealing with chronic depression for 11 years. My goal is to cut down my medication for sleep and anxiety. I am going to start walking the dog and see what happens. Thannx for the support. - 2/18/2010 6:13:14 PM
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KALAXSON

I have been dealing with depression since I was a child and have been on anti-depressants for 13 years. I was diagnosed with major depression when I was 16 and shortly thereafter was put on medicine. It has always been a battle to stay on an exercise program but this year has been better than ever. With support from people online and keeping track of my exercise i've been more motivated to get out there. I also realized that I have to change my lifestyle in order to survive. I have a condition that in order to keep under control I have to make exercise my life. It has been hard but I am slowly getting off my medicine. I just want to see if I can do this with a more holistic approach. if anyone is interested there is a sight called AlternativeDepres
sionTherapy.com which has some good insight on what you can do naturally. I wish my doctor talked about alternative ways I could heal myself, instead like most doctors I have met they just put you on pills which can help but don't solve everything.You also need to talk to someone, join a support group, journal, exercise, eat healthy. It has been a major battle but i have the tools to win. It's still really difficult but I won't give up. Fight for your life!!! take charge and tell yourself you can do this. It took me 13 years of fighting and you know what makes it easiest, exercise. - 1/16/2010 4:37:54 PM
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PEARL10

The more I exercise, the better I feel. Anti depressants cause shocking insomnia. Exercise is THE BEST. Added advantage of getting fit & loosing weight. - 11/30/2009 4:21:01 AM
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WILDWESTKATE

Right on target! I've been dealing with depression for 8 years and I know how discouraging it can be when people say "just go exercise!" They make it sound so simple, when it really is a huge internal battle. Dean Anderson does a great job expressing the difficulty involved with starting, as well as the benefits of exercising.

Something that my current counselor has encouraged - and it really works - is to get dressed, get on your shoes, get in your car and drive to the gym. If, once you are parked and sitting in the parking lot, you still cannot fathom going in and exercising... then and only then are you allowed to turn around, go home and try again tomorrow.

It works with everything. My dogs would be begging for a walk, and I'd follow my counselor's advice - as much as I did NOT want to go for a walk - I put on my walking clothes, tied my shoes, gathered up the dogs' things and by that time - I was not necessarily excited about the idea, but at least okay with it.

So, the next time you would rather get in your pj's, cuddle up on the couch and not move until bedtime, try this advice. It may not work the first time, or the second and it might work great until the 30th time... but the key is to keep setting yourself up to succeed and be compassionate with yourself if you just cannot do it. Then - try again tomorrow. :-) - 10/19/2009 4:44:54 PM
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ENGINEERMOM

Exercise is how my dad managed his depression for decades. He eventually ended up needing an anti-depressant because a series of accidental injuries (broke both elbows falling on an icy driveway, etc.) kept him from his intense exercise sessions. He would do things like 30-mile bike rides and hour-long weight-lifting sessions alternate days 5-6 days/week.

I finally had an "Ah-ha!" moment a few weeks ago that exercise helps me manage my mild depression, too. For me it takes at least 60 minutes of moderate to intense effort 5-6 days per week. I can space the 60 minutes over two sessions, but less time doesn't work.

Loved to see an article on exercise and depressiong. It's such a relatively simple thing to do, with the only side effects being better overall health (as long as you don't overdo it) and self-confidence, that I wonder why more doctors don't prescribe it outright, instead of just suggesting it. - 7/27/2009 2:49:46 PM
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LINNDAS

encouraged me to try again. - 7/15/2009 7:28:40 PM
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