Exercise and Depression

        

 Depression and exercise actually go hand in hand as most of the symptoms of depression are actually the opposite of the positive feelings brought about by engaging in an exercise program.  Let’s break down some of these symptoms one by one and then discuss the positive effects of exercise.  First, depression often leads to a lack of confidence in one’s self or a lack self esteem. People tend to bring themselves down by being too hard on themselves or by losing that feeling of self worth. They tend to see themselves in a negative light and often have a less than positive image of themselves in their head both physically and mentally. Second, depressed people tend to feel a lack of motivation. This can obviously stem from symptom number one and focuses on a person’s weakening ability to exert suitable amounts of effort when dealing with basic activities of day to day life, never mind more challenging projects that arise. This symptom creates a sense of laziness (“Why bother?” “Who cares?” “I just don’t feel like it”), and an inability to cope with life. Third, anxiety tends to be another powerful symptom of depression and will also stem off of the second symptom. The inability of the patient to cope with day to day life often creates a feeling of anxiousness in the person when they are confronted with situations they deem too stressful. These situations will vary in nature depending on the severity of the depression with even the most basic of daily activities causing anxiety in extreme cases. Fourth, lack of sleep can also occur when someone is depressed, which can go hand in hand with another symptom I’ll refer to as dwell and worry. Dwelling and worrying are two symptoms I group together due to their similarity in nature. You are dwelling on anything from the past to present situations to even what may happen in the future. You are worrying about the past returning or affecting the future, present situations, or even what the future may bring. Of course more symptoms exist but they are beyond the scope of this article.

                Now let’s discuss how exercise can combat each of the symptoms discussed above in order to validate the importance of incorporating exercise into a depression solution regimen.  First, exercise fends off that lack of self confidence by boosting a person’s self esteem. By setting attainable goals, that may be extremely simple a first, a person begins to feel a sense of accomplishment and knows what they have to do to reach those goals. By creating a plan, people are held accountable and as they accomplish more they realize just how strong they really are.  Second, a game plan developed with attainable goals also gives people the drive they need to stay motivated. As they see themselves accomplishing, feeling better, and looking better, they tend to become more motivated people overall. Third, as people become stronger both mentally and physically, stressful situations tend to seem easier and easier to deal with thus reducing anxiety. Exercise is a proven means of stress relief in general and will serve as an outlet for that relief. Fourth, higher self confidence and lower stress also increases a person’s ability to get a good night sleep. Just knowing they are more capable of handling daily tasks and stressful situations, and that they have a new outlet to release their stress, will put their mind at ease more so than before.  Lastly, after having strengthened the mind with thoughts of confidence, motivation, and a better night’s sleep, a person will tend to worry and dwell less, as their mind is now focused on more positive things like goals that have been set and what they intend on accomplishing.