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Get Some Exercise

Action and human contact can help reduce the symptoms of depression. Exercise is the best way to do both, but getting out and taking action is one of the main difficulties you face when you’re depressed. As with many of your depression symptoms, you have to work to make positive changes when you’re in the middle of a downswing, but exercise is so imperative to depression management that any effort you can make is well worth it.

Just 20 Minutes a Day

Numerous research studies substantiate the idea that exercise helps depression. Most importantly, the research also indicates that it doesn’t take much exercise to make a difference. Just 20 minutes a day can help you get out and get something done. Depressed people often feel greater stress and get down on themselves for longer than the time it takes to actually get out and exercise. Remind yourself of this.

A good, brisk walk, for example, is one of the best treatments for depression. You might never want to walk when you’re depressed, but you’ll almost always feel better after you walk. You don’t have to walk far, and you don’t have to enjoy the walk (though you probably will after you start), but it’s important that you get outside and move your legs and swing your arms at least once a day. The more endorphins you can create, the better you’ll feel.

Do any of these signs you need to exercise ring true to you?

• You’re overweight, and that alone makes you more depressed, which makes you sit around instead of getting things done.
• You’ve stopped participating in a sport you used to love.
• Sitting in front of a screen just isn’t working for you.
• You’re alone way too much, and you want to be with people.
• You want to improve your mood while getting something done.

Robert’s Story

When my wife left me, my life fell apart. My work suffered, and I was depressed for the first time in my life. I now understand what a few of my friends have gone through. Before the breakup, I’d had down times, but never a depression like this. It was terrible. It went on for months and months and seemed like it would never end. I would go into the restaurant where I work and knew I had to work. I had customers who depended on me. This helped set up parameters that kept me getting out of bed.

That wasn’t enough, though, so I started working out—every single day after work, even when I didn’t want to. Every day. I lifted weights and took a spinning class. Then I started to run. I noticed results in my mood after a month, and saw a definite change in my body after a few months. I always felt better after I worked out. My energy increased at work. I actually started to look forward to things, and my depression started to lessen. It took a full year for me to consider myself fully recovered. I have no idea where I would be now without the exercise. And the best thing? At 50, I have the best body of my life. I now work out with weights three to four times a week and run as much as I can.

My Story

I know exercise makes me feel better. It’s getting started that’s the problem. On the depressed days, I have trouble changing into my walking shoes—that’s how nonfunctioning I feel. I had shoulder surgery last year, and that really threw me off. I saw the difference that lack of exercise made within a few months—not only weight gain, but a lack of physical well-being. I need to exercise if I want to feel better. I want to focus on the good stuff: improved body and mood!

What I do now:

• I tell myself, “Just put on your shoes and walk, Julie. Stop thinking about it and do it. You say you want to be less depressed and work on your book. This is one way to do it.”
• I signed up to take swimming lessons with my nephew. Being in the pool on a sunny day with children is amazingly good for my mood. And I have to accept that no one cares what I look like in a bathing suit.
• I walk with a friend.
• I follow people on social media who have accomplished what I want to accomplish.
• I see a physical therapist to deal with my shoulder injury. My goal is to do yoga again.

Social Media and Technology

There are two ways to approach screen time regarding exercise: removing the screen or using the screen to help you move. If possible, get outside and see the sky and move your body. It always helps. If this doesn’t work in the moment, put on a video that helps with movement—even if it’s only for two minutes. Try yoga or a dance class. Even simple breathing videos can help. Only you know the private workings of your body.

If screen time keeps you in one position and the only movement is a hand on a controller or another one digging into ice cream with a spoon, then there’s a problem. So much about depression management is deciding that you will at least try to make a change even when it feels impossible. Please know that exercising the body along with sleep is nature’s medicine. Outside of regulated sleep, there is nothing else in this world that you can do that’s free and has the same benefits as moving your body. You can choose to use screens to help you move, dance, and get the body moving more, or you can put the screen down completely and go outside. It will never be easy, but keep trying. Exercise can change your life.

Script

Ask me to take a walk. Outside of regulated sleep, there really isn’t anything better for depression than exercise. I’ve learned that the longer I exercise, the better I feel. It doesn’t have to be intense. In fact, walking for an hour and simply talking with somebody can be remarkable. Let’s set an agenda for that walk. We will only talk about positive things. If we do talk about something that’s upsetting, we will also spend equal time talking about what we can do about it. We will not discuss depression. I will make sure that I open my eyes and look up to see what’s around me, even if the weather is nasty. I will offer my total presence to you while we’re having this walk. There might be times at the beginning when I can hardly move, and it seems like I can’t think or talk, but I will go with you. The longer the walk, the better. If you’re wondering how you can help me when I’m depressed, contact me and say, “I’m going for a walk and I’m coming to pick you up. What’s a good time for this to happen?” I will use the skills I’m learning in this book to say “yes” to this walk. If I say “no,“ you have my permission to ask, “Is that a ‘no’ because you’re busy, or is that a ‘no’ because you feel overwhelmed and don’t want to leave the house?” That will allow me to rethink my no. I do want to walk with you.

Exercise

Healthy exercise always makes you feel better. When you’re depressed, getting started is often the biggest obstacle. One solution is to pick an exercise that feels right for you.

Look over the following list and check the exercise (or exercises) that looks appealing:

• AerobicsRunning
• Baseball/softballDance class in person or online
• BikingSoccer
• FencingSwimming
• Football/flag footballTai chi/chi gong
• GolfTriathlon
• HikingUltimate frisbee
• Horseback ridingVolleyball
• Marathon runningWalking with a friend or in a group
• Martial artsWeight training
• Rock/mountain climbingYoga

Now, what exercise will you start first? You might not want to do any of them, but you know you can’t wait until you want to feel like doing something. You just have to take the first step and do it!

ASK DR. PRESTON

Question

Why does action help depression?

Answer

At the heart of depression is a perception of powerlessness and helplessness. Action is the antidote for powerlessness. Seeing that you’re moving, working, and getting things done in the moment can combat the ever-present sense of powerlessness depression brings.

Exercise causes an elevation in mood that makes it much easier to keep going once you get started. Many other tasks and routines don’t have this immediate mood-boosting effect. Cleaning the house or paying bills might feel good after you get them done, but in the midst of the task, you don’t have the increased mood like you do with exercise.

Exercise can also help you have essential human contact that might be lacking when you’re depressed.

Do What’s Best for You

It’s very important that you set up an exercise program you know will work for you. For some people, going to the gym is a helpful, doable regimen. For others, just the thought of getting all their clothes ready, driving to the gym, getting changed, and then having to take a shower afterward is just too much. Pick an exercise that will work for you.

Here are some other thoughts to consider:

• What exercise do you like? Some bodies were made to walk; some were made for tae kwon do. What have you always thought would be fun to try? It’s pretty much a given that you won’t continue with what you don’t like.
• Choose an exercise that always makes you feel better when you’re done, and focus on that feeling instead of how hard it is to get started.
• Exercise in a group if you tend to isolate yourself.
• Choose something you feel comfortable doing, not something that makes you feel inadequate or ashamed of your body.
• Set up an exercise schedule when you’re well that you have to stick to when you’re depressed.
• Hire a coach, explain your situation, and pay ahead. You’ll have support and be more likely to go because you already spent the money.

Remember: You might never feel like exercising when you’re sick, but after you do the exercise, you won’t say, “Gee! I wish I hadn’t done that!” If anything, you’ll be proud of yourself that you did it.