Does working out cure clinical depression?

does working out cure clinical depression?

No but it helps.

Yes, the body stores dopamine/other endorphins when in a state of chronic inactivity. When one exercises the brain is more willing to release dopamine because it recognizes that you are engaging in necessary action. So pretty much lard asses are typically depressed for a good reason

No, but it helps with the symptoms.

Hope is what cures clinical depression.

elaborate user.

Yep. Nothing cures depression caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain. Exercising helps in managing the symptoms. As does the right medication. Personal growth and meditation. And achieving goals. As long as I exercise, take meds, help people and set goals which I work hard to achieve my depression basically never rears its head. This coming from someone who started having severe bouts of depression in early childhood and my life was basically a living nightmare in which I was simply too terrified of hell to kill myself for over a decade. Depression takes a lot of work but it can be managed.

"clinical" depression.

OP did the doctor ever do any kind of brain scan or test to prove your brain chemistry was not normal?

No - there is no such thing as "clinical depression".

Lifting does make you feel good though

fuck you faggot it hurts when i even attempt to smile

>there is no such thing as "clinical depression".
we /scientology general/ now

try zoloft i was having panic attacks and wanted to die at least half of last year. Now im level headed, feel great.

exercise definitely helps but achieving a meaningful personal goal helps the most

This is true.

Wish I found the key
I work out regularly, have a part time job that I like, friends, girlfriend and I study physics

I'm not even happy in a general sense. I do all these things but I don't burn for any of them.

After I started working out and doing cardio regularly, my sleep improved immensely, and turns out that was causing most of my depression and bad vibes.

I don't know your full situation but if you start sleeping more consistently and waking up with the sun, I guarantee you'll be a happier person.

GOOD SLEEP is the foundation to a happy and productive life.

did you go through a traumatic event or something in your life for you to not be happy? I keep believing that by sheer will alone my symptoms of depression can go away but doubting myself more recently.

Not really traumatic. I was sick for most of my teens and didn't get to live a normal life. So when I first got healthy at around 20 years old I burned for life and I wanted to try everything. Now I feel like I've "settled" and attained a normal life, and I lost the ability to just chill at home alone. I avoid it any way I can, but sometimes I'm forced to. I get really depressed during those nights alone with my thoughts.

Hold you horses there lads. What I meant by that is that depression is an entirely real disease, but not one caused by any kind of imbalance like schizophrenia or bpd. It's a disease of the personality like sociopathy.

The "chemical imbalance" and "clinical" aspects of the illness are something shilled on by pharmaceutical companies to sell you antidepressants. There is very little evidence that depression is caused by any kind of physical chemical imbalance. There was a good literature review done in 2005 which found that no research has definitively proven that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance - in fact there's almost no link at all.

Zoloft and other SSRIs etc are most likely placebos.

so what do we do to fix it bro

Your brain literally shrinks when you're chronically depressed.

It helps. LSD is more immediately effective though

Came here to post this.

Depression is an illness of the spirit that can only be cured with spiritual medicine. A person becomes stuck in negative thought patterns, and a lot of their mental energy is consumed just hurting themselves all day by comparing themselves to someone else, or thinking about situations that happened in the past or may happen in the future. This is the pain-body, a bundle of thoughts that "hijacks" the mind like a parasite, and sucks up all your energy demanding you constantly fetishize and feed it.

What has to happen is the person must realize that they have a chance to be happy right now, that they can start to day. They have to decide for themselves that they are ready to live again, that they are done suffering. That this is their chance to change, true change. That suffering is an illusion, the past and future does not exist, only this moment exists, and you have the power to affect positive change in your life, right now, today!

But you have to keep at it every day. Sometimes the pain-body comes back. You have to stick with it and not lose hope. I find that meditation helps. Exercise helps. Picking up a hobby or study helps. Really anything constructive that isn't a waste of time helps.

I sort of would agree with minus all the spiritual garbage. There is some underlying cause to your depression. As another user stated, lack of sleep or an irregular circadian rhythm (shit FUCKS your hormones up, google it) could be a good place to start.

This is somewhat more spiritual but I firmly believe that people need both physical stimulation (some kind of sport, or lifting), intellectual stimulation (read books, be it fictional or non-fictional) and a creative outlet (personally i play the bass, but painting or something is good too) to process your emotions in a healthy way.

The hardest part is falling into a cycle of having no motivation and generally living a low-energy lifestyle. You absolutely cannot be lazy, it is a self-perpetuating cycle - get the fuck up and do something.

Take SSRIs if you want but know - they are not proven to work in any manner more than a placebo, and come with some pretty nasty side-effects.

You're wrong. My antidepressants fucking work and are definitely not placebos. I've changed every aspect of my life to far more positive bent. Even so if I forget to take my meds for 2-3 days it's right back into crushing depression. I can not be aware at all I've forgotten and it makes no difference. There are people with chemical imbalances in their brains which can be treated with medication. Why would you believe bipolar is real but not depression. That's retarded.

How is this Veeky Forums related

you can't be physically fit if you're not mentally fit

For me it does, it makes me tired at night so I drop off to sleep before I can be alone with my thoughts, if I stop it comes right back though, I'm like a shark now, I'll die if I stop moving.

Studies have shown that exercise or physical activity can do as equal amount of work as a depression pill but quicker in a months span. On a personal note, exercise helped with my depression. I'm not even depressed anymore and i feel great all the time after a month straight of doing PA. If that answer your question

>exercise 5 times a week
>still depressed

Life is more misery than it's worth. "Get up and do something" doesn't really work here, because I am a piece of shit in a piece of shit world, with a piece of shit trajectory into a hopeless, piece of shit future.

There is nothing left but hollow distraction and self-deceit

...

This is uncomfortably true for me as well.

How long have you been doing that? How bad is your depression? I feel like therapy, good diet, and a decent support system also help as well. Its a hard road but i know you'll make it user. The only thing i struggled with still is self esteem but i know I'll eventually beat that.

surely in this vast world there must be SOMETHING you enjoy doing besides shitposting on taiwanese carpentry forums

>How long have you been doing that?
A little over three years now.

Shit son I'd say its possible the severity of your depression. But I'm not a psychiatrist so i can't really help.

It is the other way arround,I think, people who are depressed for real can't find the will to exercise

Yes, I enjoy things. Marginally, I enjoy things. These things are temporary distractions. I always fall back into my default, tepid but perpetual existential dread. You have it in you, too. You're just better at distracting yourself than I.

Let's not lie to each other here and pretend that life isn't a severely fucked up concept. Some cosmic prank nature played on itself

are you me? in and out of hospitals from 13-25. literally spent my best years in hospitals or at home sleeping 90% of the time from all the meds.

i don't even want to live anymore

>i don't even want to live anymore
Isn't it nice how survival instinct and fear overrides this thought, keep you in check? Isn't it wonderful that you are strung along by this irrational terror in your head?

If you could cull your emotions for 24 hours, and remain with nothing but logic: how many minutes do you think it would take for you to commit suicide?
You're depressed because life really isn't all it's cracked up to be. There is nothing wrong with you but the human condition

stop posting pls

Lifting? It can help. Intense cardio especially as some kind of social sport, makes a much bigger difference.

When I took up Judo I noticed a massive improvement in mood and well being. Something about spending 2 hours getting absolutely thrashed in all ways feels great after the fact.
Really helps build confidence too, both in your ability and socially.

It has to be difficult, both mentally and physically (aerobic and cardio) for you to really get a lift from it.
I can lift weights for 2 hours with pretty high intensity and yeah, if it goes well I feel good the rest of the day but if it goes bad it will bum me the fuck out.

With Judo it doesn't matter if I'm on form or not, after that 2 hours I'm so worn out that it does the trick either way.

Seriously give it a go. You'll make friends, get fit (if its a decent club) and gain confidence all round.

This. Similar experience.

I'm sorry, user

Only if you quit pron and masturbation at the same time

Is LSD really that GOAT for depression? Will try some heavier truffles next week, but not sure if it has the same mind clearing effect LSD is said to have.