In past posts I have discussed four of the ten Basics that some consider to be the foundation to recovery from depression.  So far we have covered nutrition, taking meds, laughter, and spirituality. Forging ahead on our series, we come to Part Five: Exercise. 

There have been many studies conducted that have shown that exercise can boost one’s mood and that it can lower the rate of depression.  An article at time.com titled "Is Exercise the Best Drug for Depression?" by Laura Blue indicates that in multiple trials, patients performing aerobic exercise routines have seen “improvement in their depression comparable to that of those treated with medication, and that both groups do better than patients given only a placebo.” The results also seem to indicate that exercise “not only relieves depressive symptoms but also appears to prevent them from recurring.” Tests to date, however, have been small and were run only
for relatively short time periods. 

Although exercise might be a preferred substitute for antidepressants for those not wanting to take medication, it can take longer for the benefits of exercise to kick in. It can also be a challenge to stay motivated to put in the time and effort to exercise when one is depressed.
 
While it is widely accepted that exercise helps depression, there are many theories as to exactly how it works. Some believe that the benefits for depressed people are basically an extension of the overall advantages derived by anyone who exercises.  An article at about.com titled "Exercise and Depression: How to get up and get moving," by Paige Waehner lists a number of such benefits for people,
including that it increases energy, self-esteem, and a sense of mastery which helps you feel more in control of your life. Waehner adds that exercise also fights "mild to moderate depression because it...
** Provides a distraction from your worries; 
** Improves your health and body, which can help lift your mood; 
** Helps you get rid of built-up stress and frustration; 
** Helps you sleep better, which can often be a problem when you're
depressed”

Other specialists talk about how exercise affects brain chemicals. Exercise causes your body to release endorphins, “feel-good” chemicals that interact with receptors in the brain and which can elicit a “runners high,” a feeling of euphoria that is sometimes experienced after a workout or a run. 

The time.com article previously cited tells us that “exercise may alter brain chemistry in much the same way that antidepressant drugs do —
regulating the key neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine,” and that “over the course of several weeks, exercise can switch on certain genes that increase the brain's level of galanin, a peptide neurotransmitter that appears to tone down the body's stress response by regulating another brain chemical, norepinephrine.” I won’t pretend to understand all of that, but I’m assuming it"s a good thing. 

So what kind of exercise should we do? How often should we do it, and for what length of time? That would be a great discussion to have with your doctor. And seeing your doctor is a great idea for any time you begin an exercise regimen if you have not been very active previously. 

Other things to consider:

Exercise outdoors if possible. There are many benefits to exercising outdoors if the weather and climate are amenable to doing so. In a previous post,  I talked about some of the advantages of being outdoors.  It may be a good time to reread that post for more information.

Find an activity you enjoy doing. If exercise becomes tedious and boring, what are the chances of sticking to it? There are so many options available to us, that something should strike our fancy. My exercise of choice right now is CrossFit, mostly because my fitness coach daughter gives me one-on-one training. I also get a kick out of how CrossFit is viewed from the outside. A Wikipedia article states that  “Many [CrossFit] athletes and trainers see themselves as part of a contrarian, insurgent movement that questions conventional fitness wisdom.” I don’t  really see myself or my daughter as being contrarian or insurgent, although we both may be a little unconventional. But I get to feel kind of bad-ass when I tell people I do CrossFit. 

Set realistic goals. None of us got into the condition we are in overnight. We may have to start out slowly at first, and it may take time to see the benefits. So we shouldn’t set ourselves up with high expectations of immediately feeling better or of immediately getting fit. 

Exercise is a very proactive undertaking for those of us dealing with depression. A bit challenging to follow through on, but the results can be pretty far-reaching. On the plus side: there are no “side effects” unless you are already predisposed to injury or ill health, it can be inexpensive, and it not only helps your mental health, but improves your physical health as well. So let’s get moving, get that heart beating and those brain chemicals flowing.  

I’ll race you to the gym.
Maggie

Okay, here’s the deal: my daughter is getting married in 27 days. Now, I’ve talked about exercise and healthy diet habits and how I partake of both. But the truth is that my participation in those endeavors has been sporadic at best lately.  So now I have less than four weeks to lose… oh, let’s say 30 pounds, give or take 20. 

I realize that the focus at the wedding will be on the bride and groom, and no one is going to bar me from attending if I’m not totally svelte and fit. I guess, in part, I'm caving in to the societal expectation that everyone is supposed to look perfect. But it’s also a normal and healthy desire to want to look my best. Living alone and isolating a lot of the time doesn’t exactly expose me to public scrutiny very often, so I’ve gotten out of practice at trying to make a good impression. My cats accept me even at my worst.
 
So, anyway, I want to be suddenly thinner and fitter. What am I to do? I’m a firm believer that slow and steady wins the race. No crash diets of 800 calories or less per day. No "daily double" workout sessions and no wearing of those special suits that are supposed to make you sweat your weight away. And absolutely no diet pills or powders or other pharmaceutical concoctions that trick your body into some maladaptive function to make the weight peel off and leave you looking emaciated and feeling ill. Nope, those aren’t the answers. 
 
The answer is going to lie in taking my health seriously and doing what I already know to do. I will avail myself of the CrossFit workouts that my daughter graciously coaches me through, and eating a Paleo diet because I know it works and I’ve researched it well enough to believe it's safe. I know I will be healthier – even after only 27 days – and it doesn’t matter if I don’t look pencil thin or if I can’t deadlift the groom. I will feel better about myself and it will show. 

So wish me luck in my endeavor. Surely I can stick with it for 27 days, right? And after that, I’ll consider the plan for the remainder of my lifetime. 
 
Broccoli, anyone? With a side of ring dips? I’m off to the “box.”

Maggie

I injured my ankle last night and I really don’t know how. I wish I had some thrilling adventure story to tell about stumbling while trekking in Tibet, or snowboarding off a precipice in the Alps, or tripping over a seagull while preparing to bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge (Is it even legal to jump off that bridge? If not, that would make for an even better story). 
 
But no, I was getting up off my couch and I felt a pop in my ankle, and that was it. Instant pain, instant swelling, and instant immobility. How unglamorous can it get? 

I tend to take my physical health for granted. With all the bugs and tics going on in my brain, the fact that my body just keeps on keeping on sometimes gets overlooked. But in the past 12 hours, I have really come to appreciate the everyday activities that I can normally perform unaided. Right now I have to choose which is more important: heading to the kitchen to make breakfast or heading in the opposite direction to troubleshoot my printer, ‘cuz I’m not up to both trips at this time. Actually I’m probably going to invest my energy in going to let the cat outside; the repercussions of a feline with a full bladder outweigh my hunger pangs and electronics malfunctions. 
 
At the outpatient treatment program, exercise is emphasized as one of the greatest means of improving our mental wellbeing. It doesn’t have to be an Olympic sport. Anything that gets us up off the couch will help. That is unless you do as I did and injure yourself in the process of getting up off the couch. 
 
The only catch in the exercise equation is that when I am depressed, exerting the effort to get myself moving seems quite monumental. With my current break in the clouds, however, I have taken advantage of the opportunity to improve my physical health. I’ve begun working out at a Crossfit gym. 
 
For those of you unfamiliar with Crossfit, the workouts are kind of a combination between euphoria and hell. Since that’s about as close as I can come to describing it, I will defer to Wikipedia, which explains that “[Crossfit] Workouts are typically short… and intense, demanding all-out physical exertion. They combine movements such as sprinting, rowing, jumping rope, climbing rope, weightlifting, and carrying odd objects; they use barbells, dumbbells, gymnastics rings, pull-up bars, kettle bells, medicine balls, and many bodyweight exercises.”  
 
I don’t know about that whole “carrying odd objects” bit. I mean, they don’t send us running about the gym with rubber chickens or toaster ovens or the like. I do have to confess, though, that I’m just an out of shape neophyte, so my odd object carrying capacity is still rather limited. But I’m up and moving and challenging (and growing) my physical capabilities and getting those endorphins pumping, and that’s what counts. 
 
At least I was doing all that. Currently the thought of jumping rope makes me cringe, and I am praying for a most speedy recovery. Couch sitting is hazardous to my health, obviously in more ways than one. I hope I can continue to make progress in my strength and conditioning regimen; I think this is another case where effort invested now will pay off if and when I start to stumble again mood wise. So as soon as I am able, I will be heading off to the gym again. 
 
Can’t wait to see what the next odd object will be. 
Maggie