Chasing the Blues Away

By: Jean Johnson for Body1

Interested in something that reduces sadness, anxiety, irritability, stress, fatigue, anger, self-doubt and hopelessness?

Indeed, if the slip slide into 2006 not to mention twenty-first century sedentary existence has you feeling a bit sluggish and out of sorts – even, perish the thought, full on depressed – the first thing to do is push up out of the chair.

Take Action

Get moving today: Harvard researchers think exercise that gets the heart pumping might raise levels of “helpful chemicals in the brain” like endorphins that promote feelings of well-being. Andrew Weil, natural health guru, advocates 30-minute aerobic workouts five times a week. It can take up to a month for exercise to start lifting depression and stemming anxiety. If all else fails, start with some ankle and wrist rolls. Then consider walking around the block. The Hopi Indians of the Southwest believe that running banishes unhappiness and rejuvenates a person’s energy.

Once we’re on our feet, anything goes. Turn the radio on and dance. Lace up the shoes and head out for a run. Cruise on over to the club and schlep into a cardio class or hop on the tread mill. Pull weeds in the garden. Take a walk after dinner.

Whatever. Just get moving. Get after it and stay after it, is what the experts say when we’re feeling downish and can’t shake off those wretched, miserable blues.

The Exercise Paradox

There’s no new cutting-edge study to report, but it’s odd how when it comes to exercise, we easily forget what we’ve heard a zillion times. Perhaps we’re still reeling from the military-style calisthenics forced on us in elementary and high school. Or maybe it’s just the sound of the word. Exercise. Clearly not a comfort word one can cozy up to like potatoes.

Therein lays the paradox, however. When we need a little TLC, there’s nothing like getting up and getting moving.

Said the Harvard Mental Health Letter editor-in-chief, Michael Craig Miller, M.D., “It’s clear that exercise is beneficial for mental health. What’s not clear is how it works.” More in a recent issue of the Letter, Harvard mental health experts write that “although it is no magic remedy, there is little to lose and everything to gain by trying to work off depression and anxiety.”

Harvard is not the only Ivy League institution waving the exercise flag. In 1999 at Duke University, James Blumenthal, Ph.D. found that exercise did a better job of helping folks over 50 years of age shuck off depression over the long haul than the anti-depressant medication Zoloft did.

“The important conclusion is that the effectiveness of exercise seems to persist over time, and that patients who respond well to exercise and maintain their exercise have a much smaller risk of relapsing,” said Blumenthal. He also provided an interesting tidbit that quantifies ones efforts and could motivate a person to crank it up a tad: “For each 50-minute increment of exercise, there was an accompanying 50 percent reduction in relapse risk.”

OK, so if we’re already exercising at least three to four times a week and getting in 20-minute cardiovascular workouts along with some strength training and yoga-style stretching and limbering up, and if we tack on another couple days, we buff up our resistance to the blues. Sounds great and even doable for those of us who already have an exercise habit cooking and aren’t fighting depression.

When Depression Has Us Locked In

But for those who aren’t there yet, and who are all slumpified and hung down, a chipper “just say yes” will hardly cut it. Indeed, as anyone who has ever suffered depression knows the dull, vacant ache of the disease can leave a person with so little energy that the last thing they feel like doing is exercise.

“I remember it well. It was just after my divorce and the year my second brother died,” said Roger Johnsen of Ballard, Washington. “I was like a walking zombie. Just going through the minimum of motions. I was suicidal – the whole bit. When I finally got in for help, they suggested going out to fun places – something I found ironic since there was nothing even remotely fun in life for me then. But I don’t recall anyone mentioning exercise. That was back in the 1970s, so maybe they hadn’t connected the dots yet.”

Today Johnsen is depression-free and is a regular exerciser. To the question of whether he thinks he might have been able to chase his blues away if he’d known about exercise back in his dark days, he’s iffy.

“You know, I just don’t know. It was such a nightmare. Depression is a very real deal. It’s way more than just feeling down. It’s like being trapped in deep, dark hole with no escape and little air. You can barely wiggle your toes let alone thing about getting up and moving.”

Taking It Small Doses

Harvard’s Dr. Miller agrees that finding a way to exercise in the middle of depression is a tough proposition.

“Most people cannot ‘just do it,’ particularly if they are depressed,” said Miller. That said, Miller is an optimist and thinks there might be a way.

“The advantage of doing a little bit is that sometimes a little bit leads to a little bit more,” Miller continued. “You don’t have to have a program that includes 45 minutes of sweating and grunting and moaning. A 10-minute walk is as good a place to start as anything else.”

Mayo Clinic psychologist, Kristin Vickers-Douglas, Ph.D. concurs that easing into increased activity makes sense. “It’s not a magic bullet, but increasing physical activity is a positive and active strategy to help manage depression and anxiety,” she said. “And small bouts of exercise may be a great way to get started if it’s initially too difficult to do more.”

Playing to Your Strengths

Vickers-Douglas’s acknowledges that getting an exercise program going and maintaining it is difficult, but she believes there is a way.

“What would happen if you went out to your car, and it wouldn’t start?” she asked. “You’d probably be able to very quickly list several strategies for dealing with that barrier, such as calling an auto service, taking the bus, or calling your spouse or friend for help. You instantly start problem solving.”

It’s a different story when it comes to exercise, though, she says. “With exercise we often hit a barrier and say, ‘That’s it. I can’t do it. Forget it. Some people have the idea that being physically active is supposed to be easy and natural. Some think of it as just having enough willpower. But that really oversimplifies it and can make us feel like failures. You can’t just rely on willpower. Identify your strengths and skills and apply those to exercise.”

Roger Johnsen didn’t realize that he was playing to his strengths, but he says it just came naturally.

“I used to be pretty rigid about exercise when I first started. Running, Nordic tracks, weights, all that. But lately, one of my favorite things is to put on music after dinner and dance free style. There’s a commercial free blues station that works for me,” Johnsen said. “Dancing isn’t regimented, and I get to move my spine and arms and legs and work out all the kinks of the day. And at home, I feel less inhibited than out in a club. Plus that it’s a heart workout and stretching and bending all at once. A multi-tasker’s dream.”

Johnsen chuckles, and his hazel eyes shine with the light of life. Clearly living a multi-tasker’s dream is far superior to dragging through a nightmare of depression.

“Ain’t that the truth,” he said. “And back then I never ever would have believed it possible. I don’t owe all my recovery to exercise, but I think it really has been a big part of what’s kept me smiling for years now.”

Last updated: 18-Jan-06