EXERCISE AND DEPRESSION

How well does exercise work for depression?

For mild depression, physical activity can be as good as antidepressants or psychological treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

It can certainly be harder to get active when you are depressed. But being active lifts your mood and gives you a sense of being in control and in touch with other people.

In some areas in the UK, GPs (family doctors) can prescribe exercise.

What's the downside?

Not much. If you are normally very active, you may get depressed if, for any length of time, you can't exercise because of an injury. If this does happen, you can carry on with exercises using those parts of your body that are not injured. This will help you to keep fit, feel more in control and keep in touch with other people. It can help to set yourself targets – both for the next few days and longer, for the next weeks or months.

Some people with eating disorders use exercise to lose too much weight.

Some athletes (such as those in weight-related sports like horse racing, boxing and gymnastics) are more likely to develop eating disorders.

Physical exercise can cause injuries and some health problems – but you are much more likely to get ill if you don't keep active. If in doubt, ask your doctor.

Getting down to it

Any physical activity needs to be something that you can do regularly. But lots of things can stop you, especially if you feel depressed. You may feel that you:

• don't have the energy
• don’t feel confident enough
• don’t know anybody to exercise with
• don’t have the right clothes
• can’t afford it
• just aren’t the ‘exercise or sporty type’
• won't feel any differenrt for doing it.

Exercise can be about playing sport or doing hard-core exercise – if you want that. For other people, it is just about being more physically active and sitting around less. It doesn’t have to be hard – but try to do something every day.

Some things aren't expensive – walking is free and jogging just needs a pair of trainers (cheap ones are fine). If you have a bike already, try cycling to work (or for any regular journey) – you may even save some money.

But don’t overdo it!

If you haven’t been active for a while, doing too much when you start can make you more tired – particularly if you also have a health problem (including depression) that makes you tired. One day you may have the energy to be really active but feel completely exhausted the next.

Whatever you choose to do, start with something easy – like walking round the block. Build your level up gradually, perhaps by just doing a minute or two more – or a few metres more - each day. Try to do something most days, even if you feel tired.

Start by working out how much you do already – you can use a pedometer to show you how many steps you take every day. Or you could keep a diary for a few days of how long you spend doing active things. Then set yourself some goals. Make sure they are:

• S – Specific (clear)

• M – Measurable – you will know when you’ve achieved them

• A – Achievable – you can achieve them

• R – Relevant – they mean something to you

• T - Time-based – you set yourself a time limit to achieve your goals.

They need to be things you can see yourself doing – and take pride in, so you feel good about yourself. You may be able to do it on your own, or with some help from others.

Nobody’s perfect. You will have setbacks when you can’t meet a short term goal, or just feel too tired to do anything. Recognise it when it happens, but don’t worry about it. Tomorrow is another day and short term setbacks don’t matter in the bigger picture of your longer-term goals. And, if you need to, do ask someone else to give you a hand.