Exercise vrs. Antidepressants

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Don't take medications! Seriously, so many people have horrible side effects: increased anxiety, depression, brain fog, suicidal thoughts. Pursue exercising- I have a new theory on depression which suggests that toxins (chemicals are body labels poisonous) is the main culprit for depression and anxiety like symptoms- somewhere along the line, you probably have an undiagnosed food allergy- what is your diet like and have you been seen by a registered dietitian? Try exercising, yoga, omega 3 oils (available through fish capsules) and a de-tox system and see if your depression has alleviated. I heard ecotherapy works for depression really well- it has a calming effect, maybe it has something to do with the plant's respiration of oxygen. So maybe if you pursue a run try running through a park or an area with a lot of plants, flowers, greenery (with company of course for safety if you can). Good luck. I would really try to hold off on medications, they are so tentative in treatment, it should be experimental medicine because that is essentially what it does, experiment.. I was depressed for a year and since trying the above (especially fish oils) I've noticed a huge improvement in mood. I work as a medical receptionist and it seems like a lot of our patients end up not treating their depression but exacerbating it and becoming dependent/addicted to the medications with severe withdrawals should they not take the medication. Good luck.

I find a short, vigorous workout lifts my mood immediately.

For me, exercise is far better than antidepressants as I gained weight and had other negative effects from taking Paxil. I'd rather go to the gym or even take a walk than even consider medication. I would see a counselor if for some reason the exercise stops working, only because they aren't going to prescribe medication.

In theory, exercise would be great if it worked. But I already exercise regularly and eat healthily and that didnt stop me from getting depressed again. I think it works maybe for low level depression, but not for severe clinical depression. I did find that walking helped when I was feeling really bad, but only to the extent that staying still was unbearable. And I kept on with my swimming, but often found myself crying in the changing rooms afterwards (or even in the pool whilst swimming), so it didnt really have much effect.

Effexor and antipsychotics together however did have an effect and I think without it I would still be in the same hole as before, or too tired of depression and life in general so would have ended it. I have found though that antidepressants alone (without antipsychotics) dont do anything for me much, so perhaps these studies comparing antidepressants alone and exercise have something to them - perhaps antipsychotics are more effective as antidepressants (after all I was told I was taking them for mood stabilisation not for psychosis).

this year exercise has been extremely helpful in fighting off depression. i was severely depressed in late '07 (starting in october, ended in late december) then it came back in late jan and lasted a few weeks. the problem is that when i start to get depressed i start to lose motivation so i don't do as much cardio. when i got depressed in late jan i realized this and went back and started training consistently and it went away. i also notice that if i stop doing cardio (when i have a lot of tests, like this last week) i start getting depressed again (this year).

That being said, not everyone wants to push themselves for that long (i generally do about an hour a day, sometimes more, lately i'm doing more high intensity work so it's shorter) so they might not be able to exercise long enough or intensely enough to reap the benefits. exercise might also have lesser effects on others so it might not be completely effective. I'm using it because i don't want to go on more drugs (school day doses of stimulants for adhd are enough for me) if i don't have to, even though Prozac worked very well for me 6 years ago (grade with no noticeable side-effects or mood altering effects (just noticed that i had a good few months after a while).