Exercise: The Organic Anti-Depressant + My Experience With Exercise
A new study shares the effects of different types of exercise on depression.
I came across a tweet from Steve Stewart Williams that led me to his Substack where he shares a new meta-analysis.
Below is the graph that Steve Williams shared, showing the potency of each type of exercise in “managing” depression:
I know there are nuances to studies and that even scientific papers should be taken with a little bit of salt, but I think this study shows a positive conclusion.
Exercise Works!
I think exercise’s benefit shows clearly with body transformations. People who start them are completely transformed into unrecognizable versions of themselves.
I am not saying there are no extremes on the other end, but finally finding a way to properly manage depression can lead to very productive results.
I go to the gym, and I feel like a new person every time I put in a great workout, it refreshes me, gives me clarity, and those sour emotions disappear.
After I am done, I am usually productive and I follow up the session with errands, writing, reading, cooking, or anything that doesn’t involve leisure.
Compounded Effects
Aside from the scientific reason exercise works, I think there is a compounded effect to it.
When we exercise we usually want to become better and better at what we are doing, and as a result, we start eating and sleeping better.
I think taking exercise seriously leads to making other healthy decisions that also help us mentally and physically.
Vanity — Extremes — No Please!
There are extremes of taking exercise too seriously, where it is no longer an activity we do because we want to do it, but because we start desiring its physical effects. It becomes a necessity to maintain a figure or a weight.
We start going to extreme lengths to look a certain way and that could come with its baggage of mental issues.
I re-evaluated my relationship with the gym when I noticed that I was chasing vanity and I was too dependent on it as an activity. I started valuing and understanding it for the benefits it gives me, but recognizing that its effects do not define me.
Conclusion
I would much prefer we chase vanity rather than depend on anti-depressants. I think tackling depression requires action and inner transformations.
Please take your time and read through the study, I merely skimmed through it to highlight the most interesting finding.
Stay balanced and stoic.
Peace,
