For Depression and Anxiety, Running Is a Unique Therapy

Runner's World ^ | May 2, 2019 | Scott Douglas

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Most Tuesdays, I run early in the morning with a woman named Meredith. For such close friends, we’re quite different. Meredith is a voluble social worker who draws energy from crowds. I’m an introverted editor who works from home. Meredith runs her best in large races and loves training with big groups. I’ve set PRs in solo time trials and tend to bail when a run’s head count gets above five. Meredith is a worrier, beset by regrets and anticipated outcomes, who has sought treatment for anxiety. I have dysthymia, or chronic low-grade depression. We like to joke that Meredith stays up late as a way of avoiding the next day, whereas I go to bed early to speed the arrival of a better tomorrow.

We do have one key thing in common: Meredith and I run primarily to bolster our mental health. Like all runners, we relish the short-term experience of finishing our run feeling like we’ve hit reset and can better handle the rest of the day. What’s not universal is our recognition that, without regular running, the underlying fabric of our lives—our friendships, our marriages, our careers, our odds of being something other than miserable most of the time—will fray. For those of us with depression or anxiety, we need running like a diabetic needs insulin.

Meredith and I discovered this decades ago, and now researchers and practitioners are starting to catch up. Studies show that aerobic exercise can be as effective as anti-depressants in treating mild to moderate depression (and with side effects like improved health and weight management rather than bloating and sexual dysfunction). In countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, official guidelines include exercise as a first-line treatment for depression . . .

[Captain Peter Blood]

I have Type II diabetes and also Anxiety/Stress problems. Of course I take meds for both but I also watch my diet and I walk 3.5 Miles a day, almost every day and it all makes a difference to me. My BP right now is 132/72 and I am 63.

Exercise is a key component for many things especially health and well being.

[wally_bert]

I should hire you as a diet and fitness advisor.

My day has me doing plenty of walking between two factories in steel toe.

[raybbr]

I don’t get the same sense of having worked out from cycling that I get from running. All of a sudden though, I have some pretty bad tendinitis in my right knee so I can’t run.

[Redcitizen]

Running away from your troubles never helps. j/k ;)

[caltaxed]

Mountain biking is the safest to avoid motor vehicles. Suspension helps old muscles and bones as well.

[Bob434]

well sure it is, if i was depressed or had anxiety- a brisk run woudl result in me struggling to survive- which would take my mind right off being depressed or anxious

[Clutch Martin]

It wouldn’t work if the Depression or Anxiety was caused by bad knees, ankles, or feet.

Mine are all just okay. And I’ve been mocked for being “depression-proof” by others who suffer.

But I work out with weights and do a bit of aerobic, and feel pretty good. The key to lifting is to stay well within your limits to avoid injury, and “listen” to your body. Intermittent fasting helps me as well.

[Clutch Martin]

It wouldn’t work if the Depression or Anxiety was caused by bad knees, ankles, or feet.

Mine are all just okay. And I’ve been mocked for being “depression-proof” by others who suffer.

But I work out with weights and do a bit of aerobic, and feel pretty good. The key to lifting is to stay well within your limits to avoid injury, and “listen” to your body. Intermittent fasting helps me as well.

[hinckley buzzard]

There is no question that exercise is a good antidote to the malaise of depression. Running is great if you are physically able to actually run (not “jog” or “trundle”); if not, then a brisk walk (fast enough that it would be a bit hard to carry on a conversation) is better than painfully jogging.

Added benefits of controlling blood sugar and weight. Do it every day you can.

[married21]

I don’t like excercising at the end of the day— it wakes me up and then I can’t go to sleep.

Why not walk at lunch or a bit before work?

[magna carta]

take spin classes-they will bust your %*&

[Bob434]

[[It wouldn’t work if the Depression or Anxiety was caused by bad knees, ankles, or feet.]]

I like to rub salt in my eyes to take my mind off my knee pain

[icclearly]

Yes, very true. You might get hit by a car, but you do get a lot of practice at dodging cars. Might come in handy one day.

[Truthoverpower]

Running is stupid

Ride a mountain bike

If yer too damn lazy get one with battery assist

There is nothing worse you can do to your knees ankles than run on concrete

[TChad]

As aerobic exercise, cycling is not a good substitute for running, except perhaps for competitive cyclists.

I have some pretty bad tendinitis in my right knee so I can’t run.

And right there is the problem with running: injuries. If you continue to run while injured, as I did, the injuries become chronic. For me it was bilateral tibial stress fractures, bilateral Achilles tendinitis, and bilateral posterior tibial tendinitis.

The stress fractures were the killers. I once tried to leap out of the way of an oncoming car, but when I landed, the pain from one of the stress fractures was so bad that I involuntarily froze in place. Fortunately, the car stopped before it hit me.

The article is correct about running helping to offset depression. It works until you have to stop running.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

After your body get’s broken in, the runner’s high is very strong in bicycling, can’t speak to running, but after 30-45 minutes on a bike at a good pace you feel frickn’ great.