Summary
Most people begin exercising to get their body in healthy shape, but people may find physical exercise is also the best way to treat their depression or mood disorders, the Missoulian reports, as psychiatrists and psychologists agree that more and more evidence is building to support this benefit.
Original source:
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/06/23/health/health01.txt
Details
The body of evidence supporting exercise as a treatment for depression and other mood disorders continues to grow.
Many psychiatrists and psychologists urge their patients to get more exercise and make other lifestyle changes.
But perhaps no one takes this idea further than Washington therapist Jane Cibel, a licensed clinical social worker and certified personal trainer who conducts traditional talk therapy while clients walk on a treadmill or crank out dumbbell curls.
In an hour-long therapy session, patients get their weekly counseling session along with a high-heart-rate, sweat-inducing workout.
Finally, Cibel seeks to exploit the generalized positive feelings that occur as a result of exercise to help rewire the brain.
The theory behind this is known as "neural Darwinism," a concept advanced by 1972 Nobel Prize winner Gerald Edelman, who asserted that people become optimistic or pessimistic based on habits of mind reinforced by specific neural connections.
"Your brain is made of cell clusters, and the thoughts you attend to dictate the connections between clusters," explained Cibel, who has a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Maryland along with certifications in personal training and sports nutrition from the International Fitness Professionals Association.
A typical client will warm up on a treadmill at around 55 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate, do some upper- and lower-body strength training (on machines or with dumbbells), maybe some core training and balance exercises, then more treadmill.
Participants in both moderately intense groups experienced a decline in depressive symptoms by an average of 47 percent after 12 weeks.
Blumenthal conducted oft-cited studies, published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 1999 and 2000, that treated older adults suffering from a major depressive disorder with 30 minutes of
exercise three times a week or the antidepressant Zoloft, or both.
The woman said she had taken a diagnostic test, which indicated she was "slightly depressed," and her psychologist suggested she go on medication.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds.
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Thursday, June 30, 2005
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