Experiencing depression is an immensely frustrating process. It can be extremely incapacitating and creates an immensely difficult living environment around the victim. Irrespective of the nature of symptoms when a person suffers from depression, it becomes very hard to pull oneself out of the big dark hole that characterizes utter despair.  One of the most effective ways of dealing with acute depression is through physical exercise.

In fact, simultaneous research on exercise and depression and the effect of exercise on the latter date back to as much as 200 years back. Only recently did scientists come up with the fact that exercise has a lot of beneficial advantages on the overall mood in both clinically depressed as well as healthy individuals.

Most of the research work and studies carried out in this context enhance the fact that depression and exercise had both physiological and psychological counteractions for the participants who took part in the examinations. More than 90% of the participants who took part in the examination did display a positive influence of exercise in reducing the level of depression. The results are quick to notice.

Further study on hospitalized individuals suffering from depression revealed that when the individual was put on an exercise regimen, it showed significant amounts of reduction in the levels of depression and that too for an extended period of time. Participants suffering from depression who took part in special programs of aerobic exercise were detected with improved relief symptoms. On the other hand other patients suffering from depression who took part in simple occupational therapies did not report any significant improvements in their condition.

In fact doctors are of the view that patients suffering from depression, if asked to go for 8 weeks of continuous jogging, walking or other forms of recreational therapy, would show rapid improvement in comparison to others. The effects will be evident all the more if the effects in this case are compared to another group of patients suffering from depression who are not initiated on such an exercise regimen.

Depression is a very common mental situation that most of us have either experienced at one point of time or heard of from a close friend or associate. Though therapy and medication are some of the common ways of treating depression, yet exercise is an immensely effective tool that not only ensures a speedy relief but also ascertains a healthy lifestyle thereafter. In fact, numerous studies conducted in this context have revealed the same result repetitively, that exercise can be implemented in an efficient way to fight moderate to severe levels of depression.

Though there is no evidence of the fact as to which particular kind of exercise has a more deep impact and effect on depression, nonetheless most physicians are of the view that aerobic activities and running are two of the most effective physical exercises that helps reduce depression. Walking also has positive effects on reducing depression.

Effects of exercise on depression

Discussed next are various ways in which different kinds of exercise including aerobics and walking exercise can help reduce depression thereby showing the depressed individual the way to a healthy lifestyle once again.

• Physical fitness exercise helps build on the sense of command and self confidence. This comes in real handy for individuals suffering from depression as it brings back the feeling of control over one’s own life.
• Physical exercise helps reduce depression and boost the overall energy levels.
• Physical exercise and walking exercise also plays an instrumental role in building on the self esteem of the individual suffering from chronic depression.
• One of the most significant facts about physical exercise is that it provides a very solid distraction from the worries and anxieties common in depression.
• Physical exercise and walking exercise helps improves one’s body and health ensuring a healthy existence. This can also help lift one’s spirits to a large extent that diminishes the feelings of depression.
• Physical exercise also does away with all pent up stress and stored frustration which removes the mental pressure and dismisses all such situations that are potential enough to lead to depression.
• Finally, physical exercise rather just any kind of exercise helps you sleep better. Sleeping is one of the most significant problems in depression where individuals complain of insomnia and other problems in sleeping. In such situations exercise can come in real handy.

Effective exercise workouts to treat Depression

In order to manage depression, no exercise can be termed as either right or wrong. The high intensity physical exercise like aerobics and jogging provides a two-step outcome. One is that it engages the mind and body preventing it from stagnating into the pool of depression. The other is it triggers the release of particular hormones that can help the depressed individual feel rather good. On the other hand there are also lower intensity physical exercise like Pilates and yoga which initiate relaxation and helps connect the body with the soul ensuring a healthy outcome.

In present times, there is not a single person, who is not afflicted with one or the other problem of the mind. Feeling of sadness is one of the most common problem people are encountered with. The associated feelings that come with sadness are misery, grief, melancholy and sorrow. The basic description of sadness can be mentioned as a mood or state of mind whereby a person’s mood is dipped and they feel ‘blue’. Consistent bouts of sadness may incorporate situations whereby the low feeling lasts longer and becomes more and more intense as time flies. This condition of sadness further engenders incapacity of a person to deal with daily chores and situations. The person becomes sensitive to the incidents around them.

Sadness is a condition that may affect anyone, as it is very much a part of our everyday lives. It is at times considered a normal part of everyday life. Usually, people do not want to feel sad and repress the feeling, although this is not good for their well-being. The term ‘sadness’ is synonymously used with the term ‘depression’, but they are actually different. Sadness is used to denote an emotional state of the human mind, whereas depression is more like a disorder or illness. Sadness is also one of the causes of feeling depression.

Symptoms of Sadness

One of the symptoms of sadness is the feeling that the whole world is hostile to you; it is more like a sense of hurt and blackness that seems endless, out of which there is no means of escape. There is practically nothing to look forward to or brighten the mood of the affected. A lot of people are also likely to exhibit reduced energy levels in sadness with others attempting to curb it, but this feeling of countering emotions like sadness is not good either. Some people even succumb to tears. There are also mixed feelings of a sense of void, pessimism, hopelessness, worthlessness, anxiety and others that intensify sadness. Sadness makes them lose  interest in life and any excitement generating activities, It may even lead to loss of appetite, restlessness or irritability.

Sadness that is all encompassing may lead to depression, especially if the person affected with it does not find an alternative to venting their emotion. Physiological symptoms include chronic pains, gastro intestinal problems, headaches etc. The person experiencing sadness may even contemplate suicide in extreme situations.

Causes of Sadness

Sadness can result from various factors, one of the commonest of which is the feeling of loss. This is especially true if sadness is related to the losing of a loved one. This will make the person experience sadness. The feeling is more so if they shared a close tie with the departed, expired or divorced individual. People experience sadness when they have lost an important person or when they have disappointed them. In fact, a person also goes through a phase of sadness after a relationship fails or when they are going through disappointment or trauma with a relationship not working.

Loss of a home or an employment also causes sadness especially when they are required to shift jobs based on firing. The feeling of unworthiness or displacement also makes the person go through sadness as will the loss of a home or moving away to some other place. These are some of the important causes resulting in sadness or loss. The other major reason is loneliness, or failure to live up to expectations. Loss, failure and sadness are also resulted by prolonged or terminal illnesses, undeniable changes of lifestyle and loss of a dream.

Possible Solutions to Sadness

There are various approaches to deal with sadness and it is best if the solutions are administered early since sadness is a time taking process when it comes to healing the condition. The duration may last from several months up to a year or even more. The person affected with sadness should be helped to cope with the condition as sadness cannot be otherwise cured. People often resort to exercising during sadness as physical workouts release certain hormones in the brain leading to a better mood.

Company of friends and family members during sadness and sharing your worries and reasons to feel low help release their burden. You can even join a group or community support program to deal with the feeling of sadness as it helps enhanced interaction, leading to a distraction of your emotions. This therapy to curb sadness is actually helpful in dealing with these emotions.

Optimism is one of the best ways to deal with sadness is to tap into your creativity like practice writing, singing, dancing or drawing for expressing your sadness in a creative manner.

People also seek a walk in the sun for a few moments to relieve the mind. The sunlight is actually helpful for the body during sadness. Physically also, it works on the mind by brightening the mood, just as darkness intensifies sadness. If these don’t work, it is best to seek medical support.