I just saw my doc last week because i have to go back on anti depressants.. one of the things he asked me was how much excercise i got.... and i said barely any unless you call chasing after kids excercise( im a preschool teacher) anyways.... he told me that he wants to walk 30-40 minutes every day..... so i grabbed my sisters and neice... and said lets start walking.. tell you what. not only is it helping me.... but i get some bonding time with the family...... :)

That is awesome LauraCarrot!
so glad the walking is helping!
you go girl!

Exercise Withdrawal Causes Mood Change within Days
 

I just read this one and thought I'd share it.
Cathy

Exercise Withdrawal Causes Mood Change Within Days

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsAr...archived=False

Fri May 12, 2006 11:13am ET
By Anne Harding

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who exercise regularly start feeling
depressed and fatigued after just one week of forced inactivity, a new
study shows.

Those who were in the best shape experienced the greatest loss in
fitness when they stopped exercising, and also showed the worst negative
mood symptoms.

Ali A. Berlin of the Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland says she's not sure that the results would
apply to a person who was skipping workouts of their own accord, perhaps
to do something fun. "I think future research is needed to really answer
that question."

Sedentary people are more likely to be depressed, while a number of
studies have suggested that symptoms of depression like fatigue, tension
and irritability can develop in a fit person who stops exercising,
Berlin and her colleagues note in the March-April issue of Psychosomatic
Medicine.

To get a clear picture of how exercise withdrawal might affect mood,
the team looked at 40 men and women who normally exercised at least three
times weekly for at least 30 minutes. Half were instructed to stop
exercising for two weeks, while the other half continued with their regular
routine.

At one and two weeks, Berlin and her team evaluated participants for
somatic (i.e., body-related) symptoms of depression such as fatigue, poor
appetite, difficulty sleeping and low energy, as well as mental
symptoms such as irritability, sadness and self-criticalness.

By one week, Berlin and her team found, the individuals who stopped
exercising reported more fatigue and other somatic symptoms than those who
had kept working out. At the second week, the non-exercisers reported
more mental symptoms as well.

While there was no statistically significant loss of fitness on average,
the researchers did find that the people who were the most fit -- as
measured by their VO2max, which represents the body's ability to use
oxygen efficiently -- showed the greatest loss in fitness. And those who
experienced the greatest drop in fitness showed the sharpest drop in
mood.

Berlin and her colleagues theorize that exercise helps preserve mood by
shifting the body's nervous system balance away from the sympathetic
nervous system, which is responsible for triggering the "fight or flight
response," toward the parasympathetic nervous system, which quiets the
body. "Exercise can affect this balance, it basically lets you calm
down more efficiently," she explained.

Halting exercise, Berlin and her team propose, causes the balance to
shift back toward the sympathetic system. "If you're body's revved up all
the time, obviously you're going to start to feel tired," she added.

Berlin and her colleagues are now analyzing additional information from
the current study to explore their hypothesis.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, March-April 2006.

So, I have been going through a hard time, and I forced myself to my house today to use my treadmill. I feel better now also. It seems like it lifted some of the depression off, yanno? :)

I totally agree with that!
 

I have been working out 5+ times a week for almost a year now, and when i don't exercise I get really cranky! It has become my addiction! :dizzy:

It's true, any exercise will do
 

Hi everyone. I'm just finding my way around, having stumbled onto this wonderful sight last night. I was a regular gym-goer (3x / week plus Richard Simmons DVDs in between) for a couple of years, then for some reason dropped off. I've been fighting a depression now, off work for nearly 4 months, and I know that exercise would help, it's just getting motivated that's hard. The gym was the only place I felt comfortable. At ~350 pounds I find being in public (walking, for example) terrifying. I've had some nasty nasty encounters in the past that have jaded me, I'm afraid. :cry: At my local Curves I felt completely comfortable for the first time in my life. I've made the first steps, joining an organic home delivery service and going back to the gym for the first time in nearly a year. I have noooo muscles right now, and very little energy, but I figure if I only do 1 (of 3) times around the circuit at 1/4 speed, it's still moving, and slowly slowly the stamina and strength will return. It wasn't easy, having gained back all the weight that they'd watch me lose, but now driven to lift the depression, I hope I've found the willpower. :crossed: I know that if I can keep it up for a month, the routine will be instilled back into me. We need those endorphins to be flowing again to lighten the depression, and any movement will help.

Exercise on par with drugs for aiding depression
 

http://tinyurl.com/33zw6w

Exercise on par with drugs for aiding depression

By Amy Norton
Wed Sep 19, 3:20 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may work as well as medication in improving symptoms of major depression, researchers have found.

In a study of 202 depressed adults, investigators found that those who went through group-based exercise therapy did as well as those treated with an antidepressant drug. A third group that performed home-based exercise also improved, though to a lesser degree.

Importantly, the researchers found, all three groups did better than a fourth group given a placebo -- an inactive pill identical to the antidepressant.

While past studies have suggested that exercise can ease depression symptoms, a criticism has been that the research failed to compare exercise with a placebo. This leaves a question as to whether the therapy, per se, was responsible for the benefit.

The new findings bolster evidence that exercise does have a real effect on depression, according to the researchers.

Doctors may not start widely prescribing exercise as a depression treatment just yet. But for patients who are motivated to try exercise, it could be a reasonable option, the study authors say.

"If exercise were a drug, I'm not sure that it would receive FDA approval at this time," noted study author Dr. James A. Blumenthal, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

"But," he told Reuters Health, "there is certainly growing evidence that exercise may be a viable alternative to medication, at least among those patients who are receptive to exercise as a potential treatment for their depression."

The study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, included 202 men and women age 40 and older who were diagnosed with major depression. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: one that worked out in a supervised, group setting three times per week; one that exercised at home; one that took the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft); and one that took placebo pills.

After 16 weeks, the patients completed standard measures of depression symptoms.

By the end of the study, Blumenthal's team found, 47 percent of patients on the antidepressant no longer met the criteria for major depression. The same was true of 45 percent of those in the supervised exercise group.

In the home-based exercise group, 40 percent had their symptoms go into remission. That compared with 31 percent of the placebo group.

There are several theories on why exercise might improve depression. For example, physical activity seems to affect some key nervous system chemicals -- norepinephrine and serotonin -- that are targets of antidepressant drugs, as well as brain neurotrophins, which help protect nerve cells from injury and transmit signals in brain regions related to mood.

Exercise may also boost people's feelings of self-efficacy and promote positive thinking. Some experts speculate that group exercise, with its social aspect, may have added benefits.

Though the home exercise group in this study did better than the placebo group, it's not clear whether it's as good as supervised classes, according to Blumenthal. "Home exercise may be more convenient," he noted, "but patients not push themselves as hard on their own."

He added that supervised exercise may also be safer for some people, such as those with heart disease.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, September 2007.

I couldn't agree with the article more...
 

I'm always in a better mood after an exercise session..whether it's walking,jogging or even just stretching.

regarding exercise...
 

I know exactly what you mean.... I may have 2 good days for every 20 bad days. Its hard (I have arthritis too, and deteorating disc). We could move to a warmer climate ;)

Come join us on the weekly thread...we'd love to have you :hug:

.

hi im new im depressed cause im so fat i heaver now then when i was 9 months prego!!... just wanted let everyone know i just got a total gym and i LOVE it!!! its so easy to use and the dvds r great !

exercise really does help depression. IT moves the whole day along for me when I exercise in the morning. Evening helps me sleep better.

I agree, once I get in the habit , instead of binging, I go to the gym and exercise. it's open really late and really early, so I go when no one's there and I can run without worrying about people snickering at my jiggle. I usually feel really great once I get back, even though I'm tired.

But sometimes it just doesn't work. It's like I'll go, have a really good workout, run home, and still hate myself.Does anyone else have that problem?

huggamouse - you are not the only one- however I am slightly better for having gone to the gym this evening. I think it does help in some way

It does help. I joined the gym a couple days ago, and went two days in a row, and for those two days, I began to feel really good. Felt good about myself, optimistic about my weight loss goals. I didn't go today, and I can feel my self feel worse. I was thinking of only going to the gym 4-5 days a week, but I'm thinking now I'm gonna have to go every day.