With a good dose of clinical depression, physical activity of any sort is downright painful and totally exhausting. For me, the feeling is very much like that feeling you have when you are unexpectedly awakened: physically frail, cognitively foggy, and absolutely unwilling to do anything. That’s before exercise.
This is where the “good swift kick in the ass” school of thought breaks down completely. In High School, those who felt they knew better decided all I needed was a little bit of exercise. One hour of forced exercise on the soccer field translated directly into fourteen to sixteen hours of comatose sleep per day. When I wasn’t allowed to sleep at home, I slept at school. When I wasn’t allowed to sleep at school, I skipped out. When I got busted, I became suicidal. For me, forced exercise was definitely a part of the big vicious circle that is depression.
On the other hand, mild exercise, like walking to work or to the bus or train, has helped me immensely. Unlike “real” exercise, getting to work is something I have to do, if I want to eat. Reason #987 why I don’t need a car. Except the BMW Mini Cooper S–a wholly different cure for depression.
That’s dopamine that’s released during exercise. The effect is short-acting, and has nothing to do with seratonin levels, which is what controls depression.
I am bipolar. Despite having a physically strenuous job and being generally very active, when I’m “in the tunnel” NOTHING makes it go away. To tell a clinically depressed person to go for a walk is laughable in terms of recovery. Two things make serious depression go away. Meds, and time. I’ve often gone off meds (Lithium, Celexa & Zoloft) because I hated feeling like I had a flat affect, and paid the price every time. I’ve been through the cycle enough times to know that if I ride it out, I’ll stop feeling suicidal
When I’m up, my dogs get two mile power walks at least twice daily, I work like a fiend, I climb fourteeners and don’t sleep much. When I’m down it is a struggle to get out of bed and making it past 3pm without falling asleep on the floor is an achievement