How Exercise Beats Depression
Exercise is one of the most powerful factors in treating and beating depression.
This podcast will be looking at why this is the case and how to use exercise to beat depression.
References
Background from Back from the Brink:
Between August 2006 and January 2007, a link was established from the depressioNet website inviting visitors to participate in an online survey (read more). The URL for the survey was publicised in media articles throughout November. The survey was completed by 271 people.
Prepared and managed by Ultrafeedback, the survey sought to find out what people living with depression would ask people that had recovered, if they had the chance. It also asked participants to rate how effective different therapies were in helping with their depression. We then asked them to rate the effectiveness of various lifestyle factors.
Results
While I do not pretend that this survey was conducted in a rigorous scientific manner, I think the results demonstrate some interesting trends which mirror my own experiences.
| Ratings of Effectiveness in Treating Depression | ||
| 1= very low 5= very high | ||
| Strategy/Treatment | N | Avg Rating |
| 1. Exercise | 238 | 3.85 |
| 2. Support of family and friends | 238 | 3.83 |
| 3. Counselling therapies (CBT, IPT, etc) | 243 | 3.70 |
| 4. Fulfilling work | 208 | 3.67 |
| 5. Relaxation/ meditation | 222 | 3.60 |
| 6. Nutrition | 238 | 3.55 |
| 7. Alcohol and Drug Avoidance | 187 | 3.54 |
| 8. Prescription medicine | 243 | 3.51 |
| 9. Support groups | 165 | 3.41 |
| 10. Religious or spiritual beliefs | 176 | 3.14 |
| 11. Contributing to a charity | 169 | 3.08 |
| 12. Massage Therapy | 154 | 2.72 |
| 13. Non Prescription Medicines | 209 | 2.19 |
| 14. Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) | 72 | 2.04 |
| 15. Acupuncture | 89 | 1.98 |
| 16. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation | 40 | 1.48 |
Exercise is the winner in this assessment. This is interesting when you realise it is accessible to all and very inexpensive.
When you consider the epidemic of depression in the western world and the general decline in physical activity, you can’t help thinking there may be a connection.
Support of family and friends and counselling therapies is not very surprising. Some people will be relieved that short-term therapy from registered psychologists is now partly covered by Medicare. Perhaps the most surprising of all the results is the ranking of Fulfilling Work which stresses how important this is to our mental health. When I reflect on my 15 years experience as a recruiter interviewing people, I know there are a lot of people unhappy with their work.
The next group of factors (relaxation/meditation, drug and alcohol avoidance, nutrition, and prescription medicine) are rated so closely together that it is difficult to differentiate between them. It is interesting to note that of the top 10 factors that most help people with depression, eight are lifestyle related. Prescription medicine and counselling therapies are the only exceptions.
The other feature is that many strategies have very similar scores. What this indicates to me is that no one can afford to try just one or two approaches. If you are serious about making progress you should consider the top 10 strategies and determine with expert help which six you will focus on.
Other Helpful Strategies/Things Nominated by Respondents
Pets, Music, Journal Writing, Art, Hypnosis, Kinesiology, Reading, Gardening, Hobbies.
Conclusion
It is clear that many factors positively affect people living with depression. Exercise, the winner, is probably one of the easiest to implement. The eight lifestyle factors in the top 10 show that there is much a person can do to contribute to their own recovery without waiting for medication to work or to have a breakthrough with therapy.
Comments
About The Author
Joe
Will this podcast be available for download on iTunes?
How I Beat Team
Yep should be available, normally takes a day or two to come across to itunes
TDR
This is a good podcast, thanks for posting it. Yes, exercise can be really useful for battling depression. It is a battle that is still ongoing with me. But I try to go jogging a few times a week, and it seems to help.
Your description of depression as a combination of helplessness and hopelessness is a pretty accurate one too. Please keep the posts and podcasts coming!
Colin
These two podcasts are really good. I’m surprised you only did two though. I’ve felt so low on energy recently that it’s hard to get up in the morning and even harder to get through a day in work.
Rebecca
This is fantastic and will help so many people.
Exercise was my saviour when I had post natal depression after having my first daughter.
Rebecca
Beating Depression
This is brilliant reading thank you for sharing this. During my lowest points when I was depressed, I found exercise was almost the only way to get me out of my rut! I started going to the gym every other day but when I went back to work I just found that I didn’t have as much time anymore.
I managed to keep up with my running and went for a jog everyday and felt 10 times better. A year on, I find myself stronger than before and ready to take on my “black dog” once again!