Walking Could Be A Useful Tool In Treating Depression

[marshbags]

I was posted the following article courteousy of the BBC Health section.

Quoted article from ref url http://www.bbc.co.uk...health-17701485

13 April 2012 Last updated at 23:06 GMT

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Walking could be a useful tool in treating depression

By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

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Something as simple as going for a brisk stroll could play an important role in fighting depression, according to researchers in Scotland.

Vigorous exercise has already been shown to alleviate symptoms of depression, but the effect of less strenuous activities was unclear.

A study in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity showed walking had a "large effect" on depression.

One in 10 people may have depression at some point in their lives.

The condition can be treated with drugs, but exercise is commonly prescribed by doctors for mild symptoms.

Researchers at the University of Stirling scoured academic studies to find data on one of the mildest forms of exercise - walking.

They found eight studies, on a total of 341 patients, which fitted the bill.

Therapy

The report's authors showed "walking was an effective intervention for depression" and had an effect similar to other more vigorous forms of exercise.

They said: "Walking has the advantages of being easily undertaken by most people, incurring little or no financial cost and being relatively easy to incorporate into daily living."

However, they cautioned that much more research needed to be done. There are still questions over how long, how fast and whether walking should take place indoors or outdoors.

Prof Adrian Taylor, who studies the effects of exercise on depression, addiction and stress at the University of Exeter, told the BBC: "The beauty of walking is that everybody does it."

He added: "There are benefits for a mental-health condition like depression."

How any form of exercise helps with depression is unclear. Prof Taylor said there were ideas about exercise being a distraction from worries, giving a sense of control and releasing "feel-good" hormones.

The mental-health charity Mind said its own research found that spending time outdoors helped people's mental health.

Its chief executive, Paul Farmer, said: "To get the most from outdoor activities it's important to find a type of exercise you love and can stick at. Try different things, be it walking, cycling, gardening or even open-water swimming.

"Exercising with others can have even greater impact, as it provides an opportunity to strengthen social networks, talk through problems with others or simply laugh and enjoy a break from family and work. So ask a friend to join you."

Unquote

While they say that more research is needed on this subject, based on my experiences with stressful situations I have long believed in exercise as a great form of relief and restoring my feel good factor and the study compliments my non professional thoughts and the way I deal with it.

If you feel stressed what better way to escape than to get out of the environment causing it and go for a walk about until you feel better.

It could in the long term prevent more serious scenarios building up and developing out of control.

Exercise as we all know is good for our long term, health anyway. ( providing it is not overdone of course and within your capabilities)

It never fails for me and learned long ago not dwell on things that are negative for to long.

Many a true word is written in this article IMHO and worth trying with exercise.

Even a change of surrounding can help if you cannot do this.

Please try it next time you are feeling stressed, it can really help.

marshbags

Edited April 14, 2012 by marshbags

[tropo]

The problem is that walking is not a vigorous exercise. It gives me too much time to think about my problems. If I go to the gym and cane one of the cardio machines - that does the trick. I go for a 1000 - 1200 calorie burn in 60 minutes - sweat 2 litres of water. You forget about everything and after it you'll be too tired to focus on problems.

[Sheryl]

The biggest problem is that people who are genuinely depressed are unable to get up the energy to do these things.

[Neha]

The problem is that walking is not a vigorous exercise. It gives me too much time to think about my problems. If I go to the gym and cane one of the cardio machines - that does the trick. I go for a 1000 - 1200 calorie burn in 60 minutes - sweat 2 litres of water. You forget about everything and after it you'll be too tired to focus on problems.

I agree tropo! And cardio on a treadmill forces you to keep up the same pace whereas walking outside will inevitably lead to adjustment ie decreasing speed due to fatigue. I find having headphones on during cardio is great too.

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

[tropo]

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

So basically vigorous exercise is a great way to prevent depression, but not an effective way of treating it.

I do find it hard to get to the gym when I'm depressed so I can relate to what Sheryl is saying. It's getting started and through the first 10 - 15 minutes which is crucial.

[Markland]

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

So basically vigorous exercise is a great way to prevent depression, but not an effective way of treating it.

I do find it hard to get to the gym when I'm depressed so I can relate to what Sheryl is saying. It's getting started and through the first 10 - 15 minutes which is crucial.

what do you have to be depressed about ? you have a great quality of life

[robblok]

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

So basically vigorous exercise is a great way to prevent depression, but not an effective way of treating it.

I do find it hard to get to the gym when I'm depressed so I can relate to what Sheryl is saying. It's getting started and through the first 10 - 15 minutes which is crucial.

I have fallen into stress and maybe depression because i gave up training for a while. After i started training again things cleared up. I know that i just need to do some exercise or things will go wrong. I guess we are made to do some physical exercise.

[Neha]

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

So basically vigorous exercise is a great way to prevent depression, but not an effective way of treating it.

I do find it hard to get to the gym when I'm depressed so I can relate to what Sheryl is saying. It's getting started and through the first 10 - 15 minutes which is crucial.

I have fallen into stress and maybe depression because i gave up training for a while. After i started training again things cleared up. I know that i just need to do some exercise or things will go wrong. I guess we are made to do some physical exercise.

There is a great lecture on depression here, I think most people who feel they are suffering from depression or have stressful lives should watch this just to get a basic understanding.:

tropo and robblok it's the same for me! If i stop training for a week or two, I feel quite awful and it goes away as soon as I start exercising again. I don't drink, smoke or do any drugs so don't have other "external" stimuli to make me "happy" hahah. I love the boost after a great workout!!

[tropo]

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

So basically vigorous exercise is a great way to prevent depression, but not an effective way of treating it.

I do find it hard to get to the gym when I'm depressed so I can relate to what Sheryl is saying. It's getting started and through the first 10 - 15 minutes which is crucial.

what do you have to be depressed about ? you have a great quality of life

Who said I was depressed now - but I've been there and understand it.

Edited April 15, 2012 by tropo

[tropo]

tropo and robblok it's the same for me! If i stop training for a week or two, I feel quite awful and it goes away as soon as I start exercising again. I don't drink, smoke or do any drugs so don't have other "external" stimuli to make me "happy" hahah. I love the boost after a great workout!!

There's not such a strong link between training and depression for me. I didn't train for 7 months last year (5 months and 2 months) and I wasn't depressed during that break. I enjoyed the break so much it was very difficult to get the motivation to get back into it.

You've made a good case for getting drunk though. It's a good break from reality.

[sinbin]

Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

I had to get it from from a hospital after seeing a doctor. Not every hospital stocks it. It was that doctor that helped me come off my meds. He sarcastically laughed and asked my wife why she didn't take me to the temple. He was referring to the belief that some Thais believe mental health problems are associated with being possessed by spirits. So by taking depressed people to a temple the monks will physically beat the spirits out of people.

As for exercise being an aid to depression, I'm a non-believer. Sheryl is correct, in that really depressed people cannot motivate themselves to even wash themselves, let alone plan an exercise routine. Me, when I was at my worst, I just adopted the fetal position and stayed like that for hours. I found that talking to a person who understood my condition was the best remedy.

[robblok]

tropo and robblok it's the same for me! If i stop training for a week or two, I feel quite awful and it goes away as soon as I start exercising again. I don't drink, smoke or do any drugs so don't have other "external" stimuli to make me "happy" hahah. I love the boost after a great workout!!

There's not such a strong link between training and depression for me. I didn't train for 7 months last year (5 months and 2 months) and I wasn't depressed during that break. I enjoyed the break so much it was very difficult to get the motivation to get back into it.

You've made a good case for getting drunk though. It's a good break from reality.

For me its not as much depression as stress when i dont train for more then 1 or 2 months. Stress leads to drinking, and drinking can lead to depression. I doubt i ever had a full blown depression. It was mainly stress and not feeling happy / good. So for me there is a relation between those two.

[marshbags]

The biggest problem is that people who are genuinely depressed are unable to get up the energy to do these things.

Agreed and yes these people need additional support and expert assistance as usually they are beyond energising and motivating themselves to get out and about.

WE should all keep an eye on our loved ones and friends and offer genuine, long term support to make them feel important and worthwhile.

If people who are stressed out and feeling under the weather can do things like walking and other preferred ways of relieving the causes by way of a change of scenery and release, they are a good way to halting a build up to more serious situations you rightfully mention.

Health wise, lack of importance, self esteem and motivation / support from others can be another factor in all of this.

Please watch out for those you are usually in regular contact with and may have noticed a negative development.

IMHO of course.

( I did a longish post that was lost to the gremlins so this is a shorter version of my reply and initial thoughts. )

Whatever way of dealing with this dreadful infliction, exercise wise, you prefer / choose I recommend it and cannot fault obvious differences in how to put it to good use, so long as it makes us feel better.

marshbags

Edited April 16, 2012 by marshbags

[Neha]

Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

I had to get it from from a hospital after seeing a doctor. Not every hospital stocks it. It was that doctor that helped me come off my meds. He sarcastically laughed and asked my wife why she didn't take me to the temple. He was referring to the belief that some Thais believe mental health problems are associated with being possessed by spirits. So by taking depressed people to a temple the monks will physically beat the spirits out of people.

As for exercise being an aid to depression, I'm a non-believer. Sheryl is correct, in that really depressed people cannot motivate themselves to even wash themselves, let alone plan an exercise routine. Me, when I was at my worst, I just adopted the fetal position and stayed like that for hours. I found that talking to a person who understood my condition was the best remedy.

Hi sinbin,

Thanks for your contribution. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with the hospital and suggestions to go to the temple etc. I respect people's beliefs but I think people should also respect mine and I would have been pretty annoyed if my doc said that to me knowing I'm not a buddhist. Though we are in Thailand after all so it shouldn't be too surprising.

I did a quick search on this last night after posting and found out that one can actually get a wide variety of antidepressants over the counter here. This was 3-4 years ago so it might have changed but somehow I doubt that. Perhaps someone else can confirm?

[Neha]

tropo and robblok it's the same for me! If i stop training for a week or two, I feel quite awful and it goes away as soon as I start exercising again. I don't drink, smoke or do any drugs so don't have other "external" stimuli to make me "happy" hahah. I love the boost after a great workout!!

There's not such a strong link between training and depression for me. I didn't train for 7 months last year (5 months and 2 months) and I wasn't depressed during that break. I enjoyed the break so much it was very difficult to get the motivation to get back into it.

You've made a good case for getting drunk though. It's a good break from reality.

For me its not as much depression as stress when i dont train for more then 1 or 2 months. Stress leads to drinking, and drinking can lead to depression. I doubt i ever had a full blown depression. It was mainly stress and not feeling happy / good. So for me there is a relation between those two.

Yeah I understand. I wasn't talking about depression either, just about stress and life in general. And I only mentioned the drinking because up until 2 years ago, I used to smoke and drink everyday. One day I just quit both and started exercising instead, so I can feel the difference if I stop working out for a while. Perhaps it's like robblok said, that we are probably made to do some regular exercise.

I think it's important to note, as others have brought up, that depression is a pretty horrible condition and is very different from just feeling bad or sad or stressed, as described in the video I posted above. People who are truly depressed like sinbin described, don't have the energy to do anything - not even shower or put on clean clothes, much less get themselves to exercise. Perhaps what we are talking about is just exercise being a stress relief in our lives. Walking is great as a preventative measure for depression but one cannot expect an already depressed person to go for a walk.

Just as a comparison, I want to talk about all these very high intensity workout videos. I think those exercise routines are great for people who are already at some level of fitness, even overweight people can benefit from it (p90x type workouts) but can you imagine a morbidly obese sedentary person on a program like this? It's going to be way too difficult for them to keep up and will most likely even result in injury or over exhaustion. Maybe for people like that, it's best to start them out with some very, very light exercise.

Personally I think there are many tools in treating real depression - antidepressants and therapy by a professional and perhaps later some exercise will probably work better in synergy rather than as separate approaches. Purists who seek to avoid antidepressants might be missing out on the key that will make them feel better.

On the other hand I want to acknowledge that antidepressants are very over-prescribed by doctors especially from the stuff I've read in the US, and it's probably not a good idea to go out and start taking antidepressants without reading up on it and fully understanding the mechanism of action, side effects and indications. It seems a lot of people who take SSRIs expect them to work instantly (which is very untrue - it takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to take effect) and end up having suicidal tendencies when they think the drugs are not working. This is very unfortunate and easily preventable if doctors and people took the responsibility to make sure people are well educated before popping pills.

Edited April 16, 2012 by Neha

[Neha]

The biggest problem is that people who are genuinely depressed are unable to get up the energy to do these things.

Agreed and yes these people need additional support and expert assistance as usually they are beyond energising and motivating themselves to get out and about.

WE should all keep an eye on our loved ones and friends and offer genuine, long term support to make them feel important and worthwhile.

If people who are stressed out and feeling under the weather can do things like walking and other preferred ways of relieving the causes by way of a change of scenery and release, they are a good way to halting a build up to more serious situations you rightfully mention.

Health wise, lack of importance, self esteem and motivation / support from others can be another factor in all of this.

Please watch out for those you are usually in regular contact with and may have noticed a negative development.

IMHO of course.

( I did a longish post that was lost to the gremlins so this is a shorter version of my reply and initial thoughts. )

Whatever way of dealing with this dreadful infliction, exercise wise, you prefer / choose I recommend it and cannot fault obvious differences in how to put it to good use, so long as it makes us feel better.

marshbags

Marshbags, I appreciate your thought out response and also thanks for posting this up. At least it has lead to an interesting discussion. I also agree with you about looking out for our loved ones. Having a supporting group of people can perhaps be another great treatment. Some people say a lot of things are placebo effect, but the way I see it, if even the placebo effect helps improve someones life, it will be worth it to try.

[Sheryl]

Sheryl is right though, it can be a great preventative measure but not a prescription for someone who is already depressed. Say, does anybody know if Fluoxetine is available over the counter here?

Yes, both this an other SSRIs are OTC is Thailand. Of all the SSRIs, fluoexetine is the last one I would recommend though as it is extremely slow to take effect and also to show changes in dosage adjustment. More than other SSRIs it has been linked to increased risk of suicide, priobably because people tend to take it as a last resort and then when weeks pass and they still feel awful, they lose hope completely. Seretraline (also OTC and now available in a generic) is better in that respect.

But best to combine drug treatment with short term therapy. And need periodic checks of liver function while on it. And don't even consider taking without checking with a doctor if you have any chronic health conditions.

[Koratpat]

The biggest problem is that people who are genuinely depressed are unable to get up the energy to do these things.

It is a cycle that needs to be broke.

Depression is a bit like a slow metabolism.

People do not move their bodies, they do not exercise, they are lazy, the eat a bunch of unhealthy foods and get fat. Their metabolism gets slower and slower and slower until it is nil. Then they say they have a slow metabolism. It is true, but they brought themselves to this point. They need get their metabolism moving again by physical activity and a proper diet.

People allow themselves to get depressed and it keeps getting worse and worse. Then they claim they can't have victory over the depression. They have programmed their mind an emotion to be depressed via reading depressing things, watching depressing news and TV, listening to depressing conversation and being in depressing relationships. These people also need to break out of this depression by getting rid of the depressing stimuli they surround themselves with.

I did both and I can assure it can be done.

[Sheryl]

What you describe is not clinical depression, that's a whole other thing and not in anyway caused by "reading depressing things, watching depressing news and TV, listening to depressing conversation and being in depressing relationships" The latter is being down in mood but not at all the same as a depressive disorder.

[marshbags]

I,ve seen so many normal, decent people get into fits of stress and depression............. yes I know there are varying differences within the scope of this.........

I have watched so many go from trying to control there feelings and visit the doctors for advice and come away with pescriptions to alledgedly help them cope and hopefull feel better.

The fact is that lots of them have totally lost the ability to do this through pescribed drugs ect. ect., become zombified and sadly in several cases fiinished up being sectioned in the local hospital Phsyco ward.

In turn met up with others who with a history on stress and drug related issues and know best they tell them, been encouraged to do as they have and, take additional illegal stuff " because it will make you feel even better these old sweats tell you " and as a consequence totally lost the ability and responsiblity not only to themselves but their families and us their friends to recover.

Sadly some have suffered self degration and death.

Let me share with you if I may the following personal stuff.

Many years ago my doctor prescribed me Prozact when I was feeling not so good, but I was aware of the various situations above having been associated with local charities and others.

Got the medication, went home, read the enclosed info, side and after effects ect. ect.

I immediately flushed em all down the toilet, thankfully while even thoughI was in the beginning of who knows what, I was still able to think things out.

With my self control in tact, I started getting more involved with the important things in my life and found my feel good factor returning big time and slowly back to normal.

The message for me was that had I taken the Prozact, I would never have looked for life as I know it and who knows, maybe I to would have been one more sad statistic.

Drug dependancy is a real problem and unless it is essential to your state of mind getting much worse,

IMHO they should not be prescribed without further investigation with a dependable expert / who is experienced in this field.

My doctor was a good one, make no mistake and was acting as he thoughjt best for me, a very good old fashioned familiy doctor and many kudos and well earned respect to him.

Of course we can all the comparisons about certain scenarious, but for me it needs prevention at the first sings of stress situations and worsening depression and not being allowed to get into worse case issues.

Again support from family members and friend is for me paramount / beneficial to those who need our help.

If you are getting stressed please try non drug related treatment, especially exercise if you can possibly manage it.

If you need support please don,t be afraid or ashamed to ask a family member or a reliable friend if they can help.

My sympathies and sensitivity to those who are not in this early stage are genuinely offered and I feel for anyone who isn,t.

marshbags

Edited April 18, 2012 by marshbags

[marshbags]

Please read the following article which provides ( offers ) excellent advice along with the benefits of exercise and compliments the OP in a very informative way.

Using Exercise to Manage Depression

By Diana Rodriguez

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Part quote:-

There are many ways to manage depression. Therapy and medication are often the mainstays of depression treatment, but simple lifestyle changes, particularly developing and maintaining a regular exercise routine, can benefit people with depression and improve stress management.

How an Exercise Routine Helps Depression

There's little doubt that exercise can be very effective in managing the symptoms of depression — research backs it up, says Erik Nelson, MD, a psychiatrist and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio.

For mild depression, studies show that "exercise can be very helpful in eliminating symptoms for some people," says Dr. Nelson. "For people with more significant depression, it may not work completely on its own, but can be part of a regimen of treatments." Exercise can certainly enhance the effects of medication or therapy, he adds.

Unquote

Ref url for the complete article:-

http://www.everydayh...d=ob_cs_abilify

I hope this gives encouragement along with some of the possible benefits to give it a try.

marshbags

Edited May 6, 2012 by marshbags