Many of my patients feel depressed, but don’t really want to take another medication. That’s understandable. However, research has actually shown that regular cardiovascular exercise is just as powerful as taking an antidepressant medication! Generally, you need to get your heartrate up (jogging, swimming, biking, etc) and you need to exercise at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes for exercise to have an antidepressant effect. It can be difficult to exercise if you feel depressed an unmotivated. One way to get started is to get a friend to join you for a walk at lunch or after dinner. If you have medical conditions, you may need to try alternative types of exercises that do not stress your joints, such as water aerobics or swimming.
If you have tried exercising to give you a mood boost and are still feeling down, check out my webpage that talks about signs and symptoms of clinical depression. If you are unable to shake the depression on your own and would like to try therapy, get in touch.