[mikorym]

For everyone here on the running bandwagon, I would like to add my 2 cents.

I generally do not encourage people to exercise, at least not like I once did. Exercise I think is one of those things where discussion never is anything like the real thing. This discourages a lot of people.

I would generally recommend something like social soccer, since there is a more balanced support structure imho. I used to easily run a 20 km jog on a Saturday, but this serves no purpose to mention other than to seem competitive.

For me, exercise is not an easy fix. It is one thing of many, which can greatly enrich one's life. Something like being into music can be on par with exercising, especially if one is unlikely to be able to exercise, whether because of mood or physical barriers.

But having some sort of encouragement, whether exercise, music or intellectual or otherwise engaging pursuits is key to me to become a happier person. Dark days in and of themselves are not necessarily a burden. In some way I would paraphrase this: "more life, not more effort". Being more relaxed towards life has been a strong motivator for me.

[joekrill]

I know you mean well, but this is not good advice. The benefits of exercise are so vast and varied, and study after study has confirmed not only the physical benefits, but the mental benefits as well. To compare it to listening to music or some other "engaging pursuits" is just completely wrong.

Is it hard to start exercising? Sure. I imagine it's hard to do a lot of things initially, especially when someone is depressed. To steer folks away from doing something that could really help in a very significant way is a huge disservice.

[DanBC]

?> and study after study has confirmed not only the physical benefits, but the mental benefits as well.

No they have not. Well run meta analysis fail to find any benefit of exercise as a treatment for depression.

https://www.cochrane.org/CD004366/DEPRESSN_exercise-for-depr...

All these studies fail to account for the relapsing / remitting nature of depression in many people; they don't establish any causal link (are people better because they exercise, or are they exercising because they're better?), the blinding is lousy, the controls are lousy, etc etc.

As soon as you run a well controlled properly blinded study you find very little effect for exercise as a treatment for depression.

[mikorym]

Not listening to music—playing music. That is, playing an instrument, composition, or musical dev of sorts.

What I am saying is that the exercising community is somewhat patronising imho. For me, having been very fit from a young age becomes a burden when it is difficult to keep up form later. I think this sentiment may be unclear for people who start exercising seriously later in life rather than early.

I am not downplaying running. Running is perhaps what people evolved to do, and I concede that point happily. For many people, however, running is not an option or is not the first step towards a better mind space.

[mikec3010]

You recommend soccer but discourage running because it's competitive?

[mikorym]

I recommend alternatives, since I find runners to be intimidating to non-runners. I find it to be similar to the cycling community. Perhaps it is more about the social stress around it. Soccer can be very competitive, but in general people would be accommodating if, for instance, you are very unfit or if you're not good at it. There are no "times" and no "how many times per week".

Personally I like running a lot, but many of my friends do not. I dislike running with other people and generally avoid the runner's fad. I am not sure if my intention is clear, but I wanted to point out that a balance of activities is often (and in my case) what works for a person going through a dark time.

In my case, I can go through a dark period while at the same time exercising regularly. Someone mentioned the need for external stimuli in recovery. I think for some people, running can be overstimulation. I do think for this reason other activities are important—a good example is drumming, which after an hour or two can be a work out. If people want to achieve their goals, there needs to be a large enough pool of possible goals (which, perhaps, there is) that fits personality and physical circumstances.

[another-cuppa]

I see what you mean. You can't just tell people to exercise. There needs to be a structure and purpose behind it. What worked for me is building strength using bodyweight resistance training at home. I followed a program and I had goals.

But I think you're wrong that music and other intellectual activities do the same thing as exercising. You can't fix the brain by thinking about it. It needs the right external inputs.

[DanBC]

> You can't fix the brain by thinking about it.

So far we know that CBT will work for about 50% - 60% of the people who try it.

We know that as a treatment for depression it's hard to tell the difference between doing exercise or doing nothing.

So, yes, if you think about it in the correct evidence based way you're more likely to treat depression than if you exercise.