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anTHaRic t1_j3gkzh3 wrote

Reply to comment by Wagamaga in Sports and Other Exercise a Natural Antidepressant for Teens. Research found supervised exercise programs are associated with significant reductions in symptoms of depression among children and teenagers by Wagamaga

Exercise helps, sure. But it’s not as simple as “exercise and you will cure depression”. So calling it an antidote is ridiculous and dangerous hyperbole.

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Standard_Wafer_9681 t1_j3gqbc7 wrote

For some people it actually might be that simple.

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anTHaRic t1_j3iy8yt wrote

And if you’re already exercising and still depressed? How do you think it feels to read that the solution is to do what you’re already doing?

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Standard_Wafer_9681 t1_j3iyjxm wrote

Probably disappointing but why should the way it makes some people feel alter the truth?

Cognitive behavioral therapy might work. I hope those people find solutions. Just like I hope the people who are not helped by SSRIs find solutions.

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rippleman t1_j3gq9xx wrote

For a lot of folks with milder symptoms, it can come pretty close and oftentimes stop it. If you're depressed and not disabled, you need to exercise. No treatment plan is complete without it, nor is a general healthy lifestyle. Movement is demanded by the body and brain--not requested.

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anTHaRic t1_j3iy7lz wrote

And if you’re already exercising and still depressed? How do you think it feels to read that the solution is to do what you’re already doing?

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rippleman t1_j3iykkt wrote

As someone who has depression--yes. You do need to keep doing it anyway. Whether you like or not, it's something we have to do. Life isn't fair. Stopping exercise and good things for yourself makes it worse.

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BeenBadFeelingGood t1_j3kx9pm wrote

It probably feels demoralizing af?

I’ve been there. I beat my depression and I do more than just exercise. I learned CBT. I take sauna. Take cold shower. Reach out to friends when I feel lonely. I learned to meditate, which helped me in two major ways: 1 it helped me understand that i am not my thoughts and I can create my own thoughts and not identify with random thoughts and 2 out it helped me understand my inner world and I’m not bothered by external stimuli, almost at all

You have to find a multi-pronged approach and learn to appreciate your struggle: I’ve been given a bag nails to carry forever? Cool. I’m not depressed. Someone says something rude? Cool. That is their thought and it doesn’t affect me. There’s a Reddit post that irks me? Cool post. We move to a better a thought and continue to vibe high

You can do it!

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anTHaRic t1_j3l9m9p wrote

> It probably feels demoralizing af?

That's the point I'm trying to make, I'm glad at least one person got it.

I'm not severely depressed, but there are some things to work on. I'm happy to hear you've got things sorted out, that's great!

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SoggyMattress2 t1_j3gxoeq wrote

It is empirically the single most effective method of reducing depression symptoms.

Better than ssris, better than diet, better than quitting drugs.

It is the foundation of any sane recovery plan.

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Jeffreybugist t1_j3i2i1d wrote

>Better than ssris

I call bs.

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Skeptix_907 t1_j3i70ru wrote

Well, not "better", but "as good as".

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SoggyMattress2 t1_j3i82x8 wrote

No, what I said wasn't ambiguous. Don't change my statement.

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Skeptix_907 t1_j3j0gla wrote

Right, but you didn't provide evidence for it. I've only ever seen comparison studies that show that exercise is roughly as good as medication, never seen one good review that shows it's better than medication.

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SoggyMattress2 t1_j3j23vy wrote

I don't have to provide evidence your eduction is not my responsibility.

There is nothing ambiguous about what I've said. Exercise is more effective than ssris at reducing depression symptoms, end of. There is empirical evidence.

Ssris rarely perform much differently than placebo in controlled trials. It's not really a difficult treatment to perform better than.

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Skeptix_907 t1_j3j9td1 wrote

>I don't have to provide evidence your eduction is not my responsibility.

When you make an outlandish claim that is not common knowledge, the onus is on you to provide evidence.

>There is empirical evidence.

I've yet to see any. All I've seen is opinion.

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SoggyMattress2 t1_j3jn3mu wrote

It's not an outlandish claim. It's mainstream science. Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it's not true.

No, you find the studies. I'm not your research student.

Have a lovely day.

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A-Wolf-Like-Me t1_j3jqezb wrote

Jumping in here. You made an absolute statement in r/science.

I personally agree with you, but you need to provide a source if you make an absolute statement; otherwise just say it "could be" if you don't have the time. You are communicating on a platform where some will place trust in anecdotal evidence from redditors, and others will begin to doubt their own understanding.

We should be encouraging that people support their statements with scientific literature to reduce potential incorrect information from circulating.

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Skeptix_907 t1_j3n0okj wrote

Respectfully, you're acting and debating like a child. If you have nothing to support your opinions and pass them off as fact, I have 12 year old cousins who do better than that.

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SoggyMattress2 t1_j3nrpxh wrote

Because its like asking me to provide a source that the earth is round.

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SoggyMattress2 t1_j3i7ypf wrote

A 25 second Google search is all it takes.

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Jeffreybugist t1_j3mh3ys wrote

My "empirical" experience is that a gym merely has any positive influence (I have depression and I visit the gym 3 times a week).

SSRI on the other hand, gave me significant relieve.

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skittlesmcgee33 t1_j3hyqef wrote

For a lot of people it is an antidote. I think at the very least it is a very very powerful prophylactic. Children shouldn’t get depressed. Mandated physical education helps.

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anTHaRic t1_j3iyfik wrote

And if you’re already exercising and still depressed? How do you think it feels to read that the solution is to do what you’re already doing?

I agree it’s a powerful component. For many mild cases it is enough, and we should all be exercising. But “antidote” is overstating it for those with severe depression

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skittlesmcgee33 t1_j3j602z wrote

You're correct that it's not a magic bullet for everyone, but it's not some sliding scale where exercise is correlated to only works for people on like a "5 or below" on the depression scale.

"It doesn't work for everyone" does not automatically mean "it only works for mild cases". Those who see massive benefits from exercise (and those who don't) come from both severe and mild cases.

I'm not trying to nitpick here. It's just that depression makes people think their depression is somehow unique or significantly worse than everyone else's - and people commonly bush off the exercise thing entirely because "that's for mild cases of the weekend blues, not for real depressed people like me lying in bed pissing in Gatorade bottles".

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BeenBadFeelingGood t1_j3kxhh2 wrote

If you can recognize that it’s overstating, move on and don’t let it bother you. Don’t fuss. Depression is a symptom of little thoughts you make and accept as your own. They really aren’t

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Mikimao t1_j3hf5jv wrote

I can't even echo this enough times. There are elite athletes who have depression. It really isn't as simply as this one simple fix. Personally I agree, calling it an antidote is irresponsible, it's part of enabling someone to ignore the real problem.

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