Depression is a significant health concern amongst all Australians, with about 1 in 5 experiencing depression at some stage over their lifetime. These numbers get even more concerning when considering the veteran and currently serving populations, which has depression occurring in rates as high as 1 in 3. Fortunately, there are many avenues for effective treatment of depression, and here’s why exercise is one way to manage this condition:

Effects on the Brain

We now know the regular exercise increases the level of a neurotransmitter in the brain called ‘serotonin’. Serotonin is believed to play a very important role with regulating your sleep, libido, appetite and many other functions that affect mood and your level of depression. Along with increasing serotonin, regular exercise will also increase the level of endorphins in the brain, which are known to reduce symptoms of chronic pain and improve mood status.

Provide a Distraction

Exercise can be very therapeutic, especially if you have been stressed or depressed by a situation which has you ruminating or reliving the situation negatively over and over. Giving yourself time to exercise can allow you to leave or escape your worries for a period. It will allow you to come back to it at another stage, often with a better frame of mind, and perhaps view the situation in a different light.

Become more Social

If exercise is performed within a group or with a friend, this will often provide a platform for you to discuss your troubles or simply to provide a social outlet to reduce symptoms of loneliness.

Gain Control and Increase Self-esteem

Getting into a good routine with your exercise will help to reinforce a sense of control over your health and life, as well as improving self-image, these together will help to improve your overall self-esteem.

Improve Overall Health and Wellbeing

Depression is often comes as a result of or simultaneous to other disease. In a lot of cases such heart disease and diabetes, exercise will directly improve the outcome of these, which often reduces the likelihood of resulting depression. 

Exercise guidelines to get you started:

What motivates you to move? Start by setting yourself goals. Maybe you’d like to tackle a new activity? Take on a fun run or obstacle race challenge? Have more energy or feel good about your health? Here are some guidelines to get you started so that you can launch a successful exercise plan.

  • Aim to achieve at least 30mins of moderate intensity exercise on most days of the week. To ensure you follow through, commit to meeting up with a workout buddy or sign-up for a new activity to take-part in.
  • Supplement your regular amount of exercise with some vigorous or high intensity training on a few days of the week. This will allow for the greatest benefits.
  • Incorporate some resistance training into your workouts. Resistance training is recommended for just about everyone and is a great way to add variety and strength to your routine.

24-Hour Telephone Counselling

If you or someone you know needs help with depression, call: