Depressed? Go for a run!

I have a question for all of you who feel depressed. Have you ever felt depressed while running? Have you ever tried to cry from your emotional despair while standing on your head? Have you ever felt suicidal with one finger stuck up your nose, while your other hand was slapping your butt? I sure as hell haven't and that's the most important thing I've ever learnt when I get depressed. Motion = emotion. Get going if you feel as though life sucks. Get away from the computer and run until you feel exhausted and then all those endorphins will be released and you will feel better, I promise. A man was very abrupt with me once when I was depressed and said to me "You don't get depression, you do depression." He told me that depression is a choice, that you control how you feel at any point in time, even victims of abuse. So if your feeling miserable and wondering why, maybe you should stand taller, walk more confidently and present yourself in a way that makes you get noticed, even if you are pretending. I double dare ya to and I hope that if you take my advice, you feel happier with who you are. Cheers.

lol tell that to my brain cells haha

Excercise is definitely an excellent means to help cope with depression. But for people suffering from clinical depression, where an imbalance of chemicals is the cause, rather than just stressful life events, other forms of treatment are still necessary.

Even in those cases however it is important to have ways of coping with the pain of depression when it comes around, no matter what the cause, and any form of excercise, expecially in conjunction with getting some fresh air and sunlight, it one of the best things to do for yourself.

One of the things I was advised to give up bec. of joint pain was swimming, which was the best aerobic activity for releasing endorphins. I hated to swim, but I felt great after having swum.

I had to give up my dogs, which took away motivation to walk. I've not replaced these losses with anything.

I agree that I need exercise. One more way of "shoulding" all over myself.

But thanks for the reminder, Ozzie. It's good advice.

Hey Ozze -- I see what you're getting at. I think that's a very easy piece of advice to make if you haven't yourself hit rock bottom. I've never suffered from severe clinical depression, but someone very close to me has (which is how I found this forum). I know that it's frustrating to see someone lay around and stay stuck in the depression rut, but I believe that from their perspective, in the deepest depths, it's no longer a self-indulgent "choice" as your abrupt man implies but rather a mental illness that needs professional treatment and support from others.

I have to say my doc also advised me to go for a walk everyday. BUT this is because 1/ I have gained 40 lbs. since this all started again and 2/ I never make time for myself (husband, 3 kids, mentally ill mother, brother, the list goes on) She said that would be an excellent way to take care of ME, do something for an hour and walking would help me lose the weight. So yeah, i think a run is a good idea, even if it's just to get some "me" time in.

take care all.

Good advice, worded terribly.

Severely clinically depressed people -- that would be me, and a lot of other folks here -- don't just lay around doing nothing because they're lazy asses. If you're sad because your girlfriend broke up with you, you can get over that with some of the means you're suggesting. If you're sad because you've been physically or otherwise abused, repeatedly, (that would be me), and because your brain chemistry isn't in the shape "normal" people's is in, exercise don't do jack. Meds help. Therapy helps. We're not self-indulgent freaks, we have an illness as real as bronchitis or pneumonia or strep throat.

You might want to rethink how you state things, not to mention how you judge people.

No, I'm not judging anyone who is clinically depressed. I'm not calling them lazy asses or anything like that. I was diagnosed with clinical depression myself and you know what that let me do? It gave me permission to act depressed. I thought that I was allowed to be like that because I had a certificate that stated "YOU ARE DEPRESSED." When I met the man I talked about he told me that I was a pathetic individual. I was shocked needless to say but he only did it in my best interest and hey, it worked. It shocked me into thinking that maybe it was me who was perpetuating my depression and u know what? he was right. It took SOOOOOO much effort but I eventually dragged my sorry arse of my bed and went for a run. I changed the way I stood, walked and spoke and that is what made the difference. Unfortunately I suffer from a different menal illness these days (one that exercise doesn't fix, but helps) so life has been hard lately but you've always gotta put in effort. If your depressed and not even trying to get better then thats no good. So before you slam my advice, I have been there. I've tried to kill myself (what an idiot I was) and I've made a comeback from it, and it was all through the way I stood. Now whenever I feel myself getting depressed I put on the crapest music (ohh u should hear it) and attempt to stand on my head for up to 30 seconds. By the end of it I'm more concerned with my sore head that feeling down. Don't bag it until you try it.

Okay, listen Ozze. It worked for you and that's great that you're interested in sharing that experience with others. However, keep in mind that everybody's situation is different, and that what works for you is not a surefire cure for others.

My fiance is a semi-pro cyclist and snowboarder. He practices exercise, fitness and activity more than most people I know, yet he suffers from debilitating depression, yes, even when he is outside doing the sports he loves best.

Welcome Ozze! I agree with your intent to help others! However, I also agree that it comes across really strong for those with true depression (and others too, I'm sure...now that I think of it.. ehh now that I think.!)

Not everyone has the ability to move like you suggest. I, myself, am still pricing motorized wheelchairs and doing my best to delay this. It's not working...

Anyway, what you say is true, motion is good for depression.

I am curious though, that if you have been doing this, how has it helped you with Clinical Depression? That is depression that is major, and not something that just popped up recently... but ongoing and not going away.. maybe not forever... it has it's own agenda, regardless of what we might really want.

Does your other dx involve anything like OCD or ADHD/ADD or bipolar perhaps? You don't have to disclose, it's just the curiousity within me.

Again, welcome, really... we all need ppl who can get their breath once in a while, around here. We'll be here when you dip low, too....

PS I don't think calling yourself an "idiot" for trying to kill yourself is a good analysis of the situation. IMHO. Being that low is a symptom of the disorder, and not something we have a lot of control over. I hope you continue your therapy...

>>Don't bag it until you try it.

That is true, and as I said before, excersize can be very helpful. But don't dismiss that everyone's depression is different, the causes can be very different, and therefore some people may have indeed tried it and it hasn't been effective. To suggest that it is a sure cure for all types of depression is very insulting for those people whom excersize might only be a small part of the puzzle, or who might not be able to excersize at all.

Its like suggesting that someone who can't see anything has to simply turn the houselights on in able to see. Maybe you had the lights off, and you couldn't see, and when you turned the lights on it solved your problem. You hear someone else describe the exact same problem that you had, so you suggest they turn the lights on. But their problem is glaucoma or some other problem with their eyes that causes blindness. You can insist all you want that they should try harder and harder to find the lightswitch, but no matter how hard they try it is not going to help them, even though it helped you.

It is still a good suggestion because there may be others who have to turn on the lights. But if you keep repeating that as "the" solution, the people who are blind are eventually going to feel resentful, exhausted for all the trying with no success, and eventually feel even more hopeless because what "should" work, doesn't.

Let me be clear on this... if someone suffers deep, debilitating depression that is not situational and is caused by a severe chemical imbalance in the brain, all the excersize and positive thinking in the world is not going to cure it without other forms of treatment in conjunction, including meds and therapy. And anyone who finds a total solution in excersize or positive thinking doesn't suffer from the kind of chemical imbalance that I am speaking of. And there are a million shades of gray in between.

I do agree that it can be a HUGE problem is one feels that the label of depression gives them "permission" to be depressed, i.e. to not have to work at getting better. Getting better takes a huge amount of work and several avenues of treatment. But please don't assume or imply that everyone who is suffering from depression is reacting to the "label". It may have been your situation but it is inaccurate and unfair, and an overly simplistic generalization, to assume that everyone has the same psychology that you had in terms of reaction to the diagnosis (not even talking about the illness itself here). My depression hit me strong and hard. It debilitated me completely. I went from a workaholic overachiever to being unable to function. I couldn't clean my house, open my mail, and I haven't been able to work in a full year. Through the whole thing I hated the pain of the depressionand I did everything in my power to help it. Doctors, support groups, all forms of excersize, meditation, coping skills. I was really determined through the whole thing. Only after many trials of different combinations of meds did I begin to feel "glimpses" of my old self again. I feel I am on a good road to recovery now and hope to begin working again soon.

But to say that "excercise" is what cured me would be as wrong as saying that it was "just the meds" that cured me, although in my case I think the meds played the biggest factor. Excersize maybe one of the smallest factors. For me, medicine, therapy, determination, and forcing myself to recognize and continue helpful behaviours, such as attending my support group, were the biggest factors.

Everyone is different, and we need to hear lots of different solutions and coping skills, so we can find those that work for each of us.