Effect on symptoms is 'at best small, if any,' says researcher
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comExercise unlikely to lift depression long-term
Seeded on Fri Nov 5, 2010 1:02 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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I always wondered if it was just me but apparently not. I am not a severely depressed person but I have had my stretches of it and exercise did not make me feel any different mentally at all. I have always heard of the "clearing of the mind" from those who work out a lot, especially runners but I never got it unfortunately.
30 years ago, I used to walk a mile every morning before getting ready for work. At that hour, I almost never even saw another person. It always had the effect of clearing my mind and preparing me for the day's work. Did nothing for depression though. Since 1964 I have been depressed for all but maybe a total of 6 months and that came from a false sense of everything being OK. Working and accomplishing something does help and that does include some exertion but it is not the physical effort that helps. I go to a group therapy every Friday and meeting with people with like problems does lift the spirits. We do "Laughter Yoga" which works whether you force the laughter or it comes naturally. I get into it so much I crack up some of the others. The last sentence of the article makes the most sense.
Oooooh, shucks. I thought this statement was talking about Bernanke's "exercise" of dumping $ 600,000,000,000 of paper (funny) money into the Economy which would have "little long-term impact" on our "DEPRESSION".
MY BAD !!!
Time for another Big Mac.
I've had depression for a long time, then I was on meds which I still am. Jesus has helped me. My personal relationship with Him is awesome. I let Him guide my life. He has led me to this fantastic job as a nurse. My current job is extremely stressful and I prayed and He answered my prayer.
Diane
I have struggled with depression for my entire life. For me, vigorous daily exercise makes a huge difference (once the daily exercise stops, I am right back to sleeping all day, etc.). That being said, if I have learned anything at all from my psychological situation, it is that my experiences are just that, my experiences. Another person with my same depressive symptoms, even my own sister, will not necessarily benefit from exercise. We are all different even if our symptoms are similar.
Funny how a study with 200 people that gets positive results is "small" but 13 studies with a total of fewer than 700 people are "large" when the results are negative. Also funny that exercise is defined as not working because the benefits cease after you stop exercising; if you relapse after you kick your antidepressant, does that mean that the drug does not work?
Yep...it's the same for me as well....exercise did very little for my depression and I was a runner....the only thing that has helped me is Lexapro....but I had to try 3 other meds before I found one that works....I still exercise but I have given up running as it was taking its toll on my knees so I've now switched to pilates and I can still "run" on the rebounder but without the impact....anyone who's severely depressed needs to find what works for them...in this case it's alchemy and NOT chemistry!!!!
This article is a load of BS, probably put forth by big Pharma to get people to just buy their pills. I treat many depressed patients, and those who exercise regularly tend to have a far better outcome than the one's who sit around chewing pills all day. Medication definitely has it's place, but regular exercise releases endorphins and natural mood enhancers, thus fighting depression without having to pay big Pharma.
FamilyDocJ I have battled depression all of my adult life. I'm a retired police officer and have been successful despite my depression. I ultimately succumbed to PTSD after a particularly horrific incident involving a child and had to retire after 20 years . Your comment sounds like some of the new age quacks that I have been to over the years. I exercise regularly and vigorously and have most of my life. It had very little effect on my depression, a disturbing component of which is crippling panic/anxiety attacks. I have gone days without sleep and have contemplated suicide on more than one occasion. I am no fan of Big Pharma but antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications have definitely saved my life. If your patients know what's good for them they will run screaming from your office as fast as they can. Your comment was uncalled for and irresponsible. Your post leaves one with the feeling that people that need to depend on medications to get relief of their symptoms are "pill poppers" and their troubles are their fault because they don't try hard enough. I don't usually respond personally to posts like yours but this one hits close to home and is unfair to others that suffer with depression. They can close my account it they wish, I don't care. You sir, are an ass.
Totally agree with you! How many kids/adults with depression were told to go and "exercise" or run it off and they will feel better and didn't and quite possibly ended up committing suicide? I know that is drastic but my mother was a severely depressed person and I have bouts of it that I am working on but to say medication doesn't work or isn't needed sometimes is just foolish and does a disservice to those who really need it.
Good comments FamilyDocJ. Of course if you stop exercising the positive effects of the endorphens will end. That shouldn't take a study to figure out. The advantage of using exercise to battle depression is it has no down side. It improves your overall health, reduces weight, does not have negative reactions to anti-deprsents or other drugs, or any other negative side effects.
Is the study author stupid enough or being paid enough to try to say that people shouldn't exercise because it is not a permenant cure all?
Dumb story.
wlockridge - I have battled clinical depression ALL of my life, not just my adult life. I'm glad that drugs have worked for you, but that is only YOUR experience. Every person, and the etiology of their condition, is wildly individual. Studies show that on the whole, drug therapy is no more or less effective than talk therapy, and that for many situations, drugs are practically irrelevant.
So while FamilyDocJ's advice might not have resonated with you, that does not mean it is uncalled for and irresponsible. Your response demonstrates some of your issues with controlling your mood, so I empathize with you, and I do not want to make you feel wrong. But could you consider maybe just letting other people live and let live, and let people who have had success in treating something do their thing, while you do whatever works for you? Can you let go of blasting at everyone, including yourself?
wlockridge, you have taken my comments out of context. I am targetting the author of this article and making a very valid point that exercise helps many, many patients with depression. It also has many other beneficial components, so the author writing this garbage against exercise has been called out. I use medication in many of my depressed patients, as well as pyschotherapy. In many I try to use everything possible to treat them. I have many war vets in my practice who suffer from PTSD and help them towards recovery, so I empathize with your case. I wish you well and assure you that I am indeed not an ass, but appreciate the lively comment.
Sitting around all day and watching TV or doing nothing would depress almost anyone. Any kind of activity that uses the mind and/or body takes the focus off the problems for a while and will likely help most people while they are engaged. I don't think the problems are going to go away or even get any better just because you stop thinking about them for a while. Self image could well improve. I think the effect in the article's case is purely from the social contact.
As far as big pharma goes, I take about $1000.00 worth of pills a month.
Thank you...exercise is best.
FamilyDocJ
Right on mate. Exercise is 'what we did' to survive before sedentary jobs and lifestyle set it. Big Pharma has no soul, just looking for some more patients.
I hope you are not a real doctor. I hope that people don't depend upon you for help. It has been my experience that family doctors know little to nothing about mental health issues. There certainly is no teaching in medical school that prepares a family doctor to work with depression in their patients.
I was misdiagnosed for years and finally saw a psychiatrist who gave me the correct DX and that is the only reason I'm alive today. I take two different meds and now live a happy and busy life.
You sir, are an ass. Why? Because your post comes off as arrogant and rude to people who do take meds. We aren't sitting around chewing on Pmeds and you severely damaged your credibility when you said that. In fact, I doubt that you are a doctor.
Good response FamilyDoc, don't let wlockridge bother you. If anyones comment is irresponsible it was his, as he seems to think his experience is the same for all. He seemed to want to make a political statement more than anything.
The effects of exercise do not last; that's a surprise? Let's see, the effects of washing your face and brushing your teeth do not last either. Does that mean we should give up daily hygiene?
There is nothing wrong with judicious use of medication, but there is far too little aerobic exercise in this country.
Lots of good points here. While studies show that meds are no better or worse than therapy, studies do show that both together work better than either alone.
Therapy has seldom done anything but take your money. The Politically Correct thing right now is mental Health" and therapists are riding it all the way to the bank. Exercise, visit clergy, talk to friends, talk to family are ALL much better than paying a shrink,
And how do any of those things correct a chemical imbalance in my brain?
So very true. And even on the meds that work best for me, I sometimes have a very real problem with motivation, a very real symptom of the depression.
So many of the posts here - people seem to be working, supporting a household. Depression has destroyed my career - and what modicum of a life I had. Ive been out of work for three years, and figure nobody will hire me now given the economic sit. and that ponderous career gap. Yet I'm intelligent, lots of marketable skills. I ended up resigning my last position because my depression was crippling me. I couldn't function. I want to know how you manage to keep the depression at bay enough to get in on time every single day - to enthusiastically do your job. I've been on all sorts of medications in all kinds of doses and combinations, and nothing seems to work well enough to keep depression at bay for any meaningful length of time. Bouts always break through. And all the desperate thoughts to escape my situation flood my mind regularly. I'm so tired of family members forever monitoring me, and of all the medical help to no avail, I just resolve to put on a happy face and act like Im OK, but its an act. How do you working people manage, without getting sacked as soon as a bout of that nasty depression hits? The kind that feels like concrete has settled into the crevices of your brain? I ask this honestly, because Im so desperate to get back to being a productive member of society - and I DESPISE this THING that is demoralizing and devastating everything I ever worked for.
Running has helped me immensely with depression, to a point. What it feels like to me is that the running allows the chemicals to flow through my brain, I have much better thinking after running, even to the point of figuring out answers to difficult issues. When I feel insignificant, running helps to restore a sense of power. Loud music helps as well. Things become clear. If I do not get the running, I might be uncomfortable all day. If there is too much running, then I deal with fatigue. However, it's much better than prozac or celexia so far.
Exercise helps me tremendously. I walk in a beautiful cemetery here in Texas. There are wonderful headstones that have angels, flowers, crosses, etc. on them and it lifts my spirits to see how creative people were back in the 1800s. I walk 2.5 miles in 50 minutes and it has made a huge difference in my energy level. And the "art" side of it has helped my creative spirit.
Completely agree FamilyDocJ. Considering the deep pockets of big Pharma, its no surprise to constantly find this type of BS fed to the media. Its beyond me how they can get away with spinning this type of research how they do. Of course the benefits of exercise might cease once you stop exercising. So does that mean the answer is to take a cocktail of pills to try to alter some supposed "chemical imbalance", while in fact actually masking your actual issues? That's what big Pharma would like you to believe.
I agree with FamilyDocJ. As a biomedical scientist and someone who has suffered with depression on and off for the past 20 years, aerobic exercise has had a significant positive effect in treating symptoms. Certainly when you stop exercising the symptoms may return;as well, they may return after the cessation of taking meds. Thats why why long term exercise (i.e. throughout life) is necessary to get the maximum effects. The study published may suggest to the lay public that exercise is not useful for enhancing one's mood and mental health. To this I say baloney! If this study has the overall effect of dissuading perople from exercising, I think this is a disservice since we know the overall benefits of exercise (particularly aerobic) on health. The overall real challenge for physicians is to motivate depressed patients to exercise. Once they start and continue I can't help to believe that it will have moderate to significant beneficial effects.
You hit the nail on the head - "treating the symptoms". This doesn't cure the problem.
Exercise doesn't have long term positive effects on depression, just as medication does not either. There's always a deeper underlying cause to depression. This cause is what must be addressed.
Obviously, very few people (if any) suffer from depression simply because they lack exercise just as depression doesn't happen only because medication was not taken.
Confusing article claiming regular exercise does not help long term when it only shows that there are not lasting long term effects for a brief trial of exercise. False conclusions do more harm than good as headlines become public truisms. Hope this doesn't cause depression sufferers to think exercise isn't worth trying long term. Bad journalism.
I agree with others that this article/study is very confusing. If exercise helps relieve depression, why would anyone think it would continue those benefits if you quit your exercise program. Anymore than an antidepressant medication continues to work if you quit taking it.
I've struggled with degrees of depression most of my adult life. In my case, three things got my depression under control:
- No alcoholic drinks. While I never abused alcohol, I did enjoy an evening glass of wine or beer for years. I later came to realize I was pretty sensitive to alcohol. So I stopped the habit. Doing so lifted my feelings of depression quite a bit.
- 30min exercise routine every evening. This really helped too. I know it does because I start to feel "down" after a few consecutive days of not exercising.
- Get off my duff, out the door and amongst people. Things like walks with my wife, window shopping at the mall or just hanging out with friends. If you suffer from depression, you know that having the gumption to get out the door can be really tough. Like the Nike ad, I've taught myself to not obsess over it and "just do it". I think the reason this helps is because it strengthens my sense of feeling connected with the world and others.
Anyway, that's what works for me. PS: No meds required.
---
eok
The answer is ....you don't stop exercising...make it a permanent part of your life!
It is clinically proven that during moderate exercise persons create serotonin and this neurochemical lifts depression. In the article, it is stated that the depression returned after the exercise program ended. Seems to me I would continue exercising just to relieve depression each day.
"seems to me..." Have you ever even been there? diagnosed there? No...I didn't think so.. Seems so clear; doesn't it? Hope you never have to experience it.
Didn't work for me - it was a HUGE struggle to get out the door to go to work. Even with 1 hour treadmill every morning and meds.
I worked as an RN in an inpatient-locked adult psychiatric facility for a couple of years. We passed out those pills like we were handing out Skittles candy on Halloween. We'd stabilize the patients, discharge them and see them back in the same condition in a couple weeks to a month. Sad thing is, just about all of them stopped taking the medications (known as "non-compliance" in the medical world) secondary to the awful side effects we all see mentioned in the endless TV adds...
I do feel for those with mental disorders, but I sometimes feel even worse for them when the only known treatments cause them to often feel even worse.
I have a diagnosis of chronic major depression and I know that exercise is helpful but it is not a cure and it does not make it go away. It is merely a distraction from the inevitable.
This is what I have been saying for years! Exercise does nothing (at least for me) to make me feel better. For all the therapists, conselors and shrinks that told me to just go for a walk and you'll feel btter...all I have to say to you is...GO TAKE A HIKE!!!
Did these researchers actually expect a short run of exercise to affect a health problem long term? That's like exercising for a while and then a year later expecting it to keep your ass from expanding. This is ridiculous. I exercise most days, I take one day a week off and along with lots of good sleep and nutrition my depression is greatly improved.
I was diagnosed with chronic major depression about 2 and a half years ago, and they placed me on antidepressants. I took them for about a month and I certainly did feel that they lightened my mood, but I haven't taken them for over 2 years due to my mother's insistence that I"ll become dependent on them (she's a nurse). I manage my depression by running, lifting weights, watching movies, fantasizing about women, and trying to get myself mentally prepared for medical school by studying for at least 6 hours a day (goal is 8 hours a day). Sometimes I feel like the causes of my depression are specific and fixable: Get a girlfriend (after 21 yrs of trial and error), secure full time employment again after being unemployed for a month, and that should do it. With my car and lovely gps, I've had the opportunity to do more than just sit at home: Now that I've completed my 4 yr college education, on any random day I could just go to a beach or a museum. I really have started to doubt whether my "depression" diagnosis was correct, perhaps I'm just experiencing "long-term" sadness that'll loosen up once I have a few things in order, some of them for the first time in my life. I'll wait and see I suppose, but I don't think I'll be disappointed anyway: There are a few things that'll always make me sad whenever thoughts of them fly into my head, but I won't be sad as long as I'm not thinking of these things, and whatever effects they will have will be temporary. Good luck to everyone else suffering through depression.
This is nuts.... The training adaptations (increased muscle, cardio capacity) don't stay if someone stops exercising either. It takes a whole 3 days to start de-training. So how is it the researchers expect the positive affects of exercise on depression to last after they stop exercising.
Sadly many people will read the headline and not read the entire article and come to the conclusion exercise cannot help them.
Unreal....
I am not going to make either political or financial observations here.
There my depression is gone!
At least temporarily.
Good night everyone & take care
Exercise works only while I'm actually doing it, and then only because the physical pain deflects attention away from the inescapable one. That's why I nearly kill myself at the sports club -- it's at least a bit of relief from the far worse agony of everyday existence.
When your depressed, everybody is "pushing" something. Pills. diet, exercise, therapy. so somebody can fill their rice bowl at your expense. Right, you say, "Exercise is free!" Tell that to the exercise video gurus, gym owners, personal trainers, lifesyle coaches, ad nauseum. ANYTHING CAN BE CURED BY EXERCISE!!! is the new mantra. Of, course you must continue to exercise to get the benefits, so be sure to buy a lifetime membership to the Y, and my latest 10 part video for 20 easy payments of 49.95 (plus shipping and handling).
Depression is not funny, I know. But, I'm sooooo tired of having exercise shoved down my throat as a cure-all for everything. I agree, I know from personal experience that when your depressed you have to keep moving. Sometimes just getting out of bed, bathing and getting dressed is an accomplishment. My steady and lifelong exercise program is housecleaning. A good vacuuming and dusting can be quite a workout. And you have a nicer environment when you're done. So, don't pay Merry Maids to clean up while you go to the gym and pay someone to make you sweat.
All of you that live with this chronic condition, as I do, keep moving. It makes you a harder target to hit. Don't let anyone lay a guilt trip on you because you don't run a marathon a week. Go easy, but just keep moving forward. Slow and steady might not win the race, but at least it keeps you in it.
The title of this article is completely misleading and irresponsible. It should be worded in that sustained exercise has some effect on exercise. Does exercise the first part of the year help you sustain a healthy weight 8 months later? As a psychologist, the last thing people with depression need to hear is, it doesn't work, black and white. The article doesn't even suggest that, but the title does. I am sure exercise alone is not lifting depression independently or to a major degree. It is likely that being engaged in any regular activity is beneficial. On top of all of this, isn't exercise simply a part of a healthy lifestyle. In the future, please be more responsible and go exercise for Christ's sake. You are depressed and fat!