Posted on 08/16/2024 5:59:01 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Our world-first trial shows improving diet and doing more physical activity can be as effective as therapy with a psychologist for treating low-grade depression.
Our trial targeted people with elevated distress, meaning at least mild depression but not necessarily a diagnosed mental disorder. Typical symptoms included feeling down, hopeless, irritable or tearful.
We partnered with our local mental health service to recruit 182 adults and provided group-based sessions on Zoom. All participants took part in up to six sessions over eight weeks, facilitated by health professionals.
Half were randomly assigned to participate in a program co-facilitated by an accredited practicing dietitian and an exercise physiologist. That group—called the lifestyle program—developed nutrition and movement goals:
- eating a wide variety of foods - choosing high-fiber plant foods - including high-quality fats - limiting discretionary foods, such as those high in saturated fats and added sugars - doing enjoyable physical activity.
The second group took part in psychotherapy sessions convened by two psychologists. The psychotherapy program used cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the gold standard for treating depression in groups and when delivered remotely.
In both groups, participants could continue existing treatments (such as taking antidepressant medication).
We found similar results in each program.
Over eight weeks, those scores showed symptoms of depression reduced for participants in the lifestyle program (42%) and the psychotherapy program (37%).
There were some differences between groups. People in the lifestyle program improved their diet, while those in the psychotherapy program felt they had increased their social support—meaning how connected they felt to other people—compared to at the start of the treatment.
There was also not much difference in cost. The lifestyle program was slightly cheaper to deliver: A$482 per participant, versus $503 for psychotherapy.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I used to run 7-8 miles, 6 days a week at a decent pace. At some point, around 4-5 miles, I felt like the running became almost totally effortless. My heart, lungs, muscles, joints all seemed to be in synch. It felt like I could run at that pace forever. Mentally I felt supremely well.
Congratulations on your success!
Exercise and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(7), 587-596. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e318148c19a.
Summary of the Study: Objective: The study aimed to compare the efficacy of exercise, medication (sertraline), and a combination of both in treating major depressive disorder (MDD).
Participants: 202 adults diagnosed with MDD. Methods: Participants were randomized into three groups: one group exercised three times a week for 45 minutes (aerobic exercise), the second group received sertraline (Zoloft), and the third group received both treatments.
Results: After 16 weeks, all three groups showed significant improvements in depression symptoms. The study found that exercise was equally effective as medication, with the combination of both yielding no significantly better results than either treatment alone.
Conclusion: Exercise can be an effective treatment for MDD [major depressive disorder/clinical depression], offering benefits comparable to standard pharmacotherapy.
You can access the full study via academic databases such as PubMed, or through university libraries that have access to the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
With all that sunshine you did not have any respiratory infections, no?
LOL. I think in the above comment, horse = heroin.
Just because a cohort of patients is diagnosed with MDD does not imply much about the severity of the disorder. MDD can be applicable as a diagnosis to high function, fully mobile patients who might well be good candidates for nutrition and exercise therapy.
More severely impacted patients who are not very mobile (often with profound slowing of gait if mobile at all) and are not responsive to behavioral suggestions are prima facie not good candidates.
And you said, "For moderate to severe Major Depressive Disorder don't waste your time [with exercise].
Your statement just isn't true.
There may be exceptions of course, but your statement is general.
Please don't discourage them by telling them that exercise isn't worth considering. It may not be the complete solution, but it can't hurt, can it?
I know because I've been there. I know exercise can work in many cases.
Our world-first trial shows improving diet and doing more physical activity can be as effective as therapy with a psychologist for treating low-grade depression.
That sounds reasonable to me -- try diet and exercise (among other therapies) for patients with low-grade depression.
I had ECT in the family. I served a three-year internship as Assistant Psychologist in a provincial psychiatric facility. My research interest was catatonia.
I have seen mild, moderate, and severe depression. Diet and exercise are not useful therapeutic strategies for the latter.
It is the "exception" where it would be, not the rule
As one of my doctors used to say, “The only expert on your depression is you.”
”I can help you with the tools at my disposal; but in the end, no one else knows what you are going through. No one else—not me, not the medical schools, not the pharmaceutical companies—is an expert on your depression.”
And that includes you and me. We are not experts on other people’s depression. We do not know what it feels like to be in their shoes.
But I can tell you this.
I have dealt with severe depression. Over many years. And I have had friends and family who have dealt with it. And some lost the battle.
But none of them who tried to use exercise (whether intense cardio, hiking in the mountains, or just walking in their neighborhood) would agree with you that it was of no value. Each of them thought that it helped make their struggle just a little bit easier and/or gave them a glimmer of hope.
I personally found that exercise helped me return to a meaningful life. And I have now been using it for many years to keep the wolf from the door.
And, BTW, my doctors ALL agreed as to its efficacy.
So even if you are an expert as to your own depression, you might consider what exercise might mean to other people.
And if you are not someone who has dealt with your own severe depression, you might consider holding your tongue.
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