Exercise should be a “core treatment” for people with depression, academics have said, after a new study suggested that some forms of exercise were just as good as therapy and even better than anti-depressants.
Walking, jogging, yoga and strength training appeared to be more effective than other types of exercises, according to a major new analysis.
And the more vigorous the exercise, the better, according to a research team led by academics in Australia.
But even low intensity exercises such as walking and yoga had meaningful benefit.
The effect of exercise appeared superior to antidepressants, according to the study which has been published in The BMJ.
But when exercise was combined with antidepressants, this improved the effect of the drugs.
One of the problems with depression is that it’s corrosive to your internal drive. “Just” getting up and exercising takes the same level of will as “just” getting up and running an ultra-marathon.
Depression isn’t just feeling sad. Its depression of the synapses in the brain. This means it takes FAR more effort just to do simple things. One of the areas affected is the executive functioning. This is the part that enables the shift from thinking “I want to exercise” to actually doing it. Effectively it translates will power into action. When this area is depressed it’s akin to a car with a damaged gearbox, no amount of revving the engine will just make it work.
It’s like “just” fighting off cancer. Depression is an illness. Exercise can be a good treatment for some people but we wouldn’t leave it up to a cancer patient to determine and manage their own treatment. Especially when the illness actively prevents the patient from being able to “self medicate” as it were.