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I like that you used a picture of a fat woman exercising for a story about exercise that is *not specifically about fat people*. It is refreshing to not be marginalized.
I am definitely happier and less prone to anxiety when I get regular exercise. So, the results of the experiment are consistent with my experience, but… They said that the [less stressed/able to handle stress better] group of mice were “allowed access to running wheels and nifty, explorable tubes in their cages,” which the other [more stressed/less able to handle stress] group did not have. So, I wonder if the difference in stress response was truly due to the increased exercise (which it could be) or perhaps to the alleviation of boredom, or intellectual stimulation, or the ability to make choices… it seems there is more than one factor here. I also wonder if the results would have been the same had the mice been “forced” to exercise.
I like the “SCIENCE (OR NOT)” tag, especially because when I read popular science journalism, I find myself asking, “But wait! What about variable X, Y, Z?” so often. With this article I don’t need the science, though, because exercise–specifically yoga–works for me personally. Running–which seems to work for many people–does not. Perhaps it’s not necessarily the exercise’s effect on my amygdala, but rather a specific type of experience that makes me feel confident, allows me to breathe deeply, and doesn’t hurt the hell out of my knees.
And this is why it’s so difficult when someone is dealing with depression, because often even that tiny bit of exercise is impossible. Or when someone has exercise bulimia, and then exercise becomes a more complicated issue and not so therapeutic. Or when someone is unable to exercise due to pain, mobility issues, or access to a safe place to exercise.
I often wonder what the real connection is between my psychological wellbeing and exercise. I definitely *feel* better, less stressed and whatnot when I get exercise. But I’d be more likely to attribute it to exerting control (which reduces my stress regardless of the method) and taking personal time to think.
There is no doubt that exercise (for me, running) is how I keep my depression at bay. And it’s cheaper than therapy and less side affects than meds. It’s not just the alone time for me (no kids clawing at me, no husband needing my attention, etc.), it’s more than that. My family knows me so well, that when they see me getting agitated, they’ll gently suggest that I go for a run. It works.
Um, I meant to say running has “fewer side effects.” Wow. Grammar fail.
Somewhat tangentially related is a post I found on exercising and depression that doesn’t involve the usual “just exercise more!”.
(Not that you were saying that at all, Jill, I just wanted to share the link there.)
As someone who is perpetually anxious about anything you can imagine, I was a much happier, calmer, and stronger person when I was doing yoga on a regular basis. Need to get back into a routine.
Exercise helps me to unwind…and makes me feel better about spending two hours watching Seinfeld on the couch…because for one of those hours, I worked out while watching! So ha!
Also, as a recovered anorexic, it gives me a sense of control, like “okay, so I ate a piece of cake, but I also did sprint intervals and lifted weights, so I don’t have to panic. CALM. CALM.”
That’s just how it works in my crazy head. I still have to balance things.
I realize there’s more than physical exercise (and mentioned related benefits) going on in yoga, but for me, yoga had a substantial impact on me being able to control (or have more control over) dissociation and panic related to PTSD. Clearly, that’s not going to be the case for everyone (and maybe not for a lot of people), but it can have benefits.
As someone with chronic pain that worsens with exercise, excercise is never fun.
But, moving on to the study, I find it rather telling that they specifically selected a species and sex within that species that is non-social and violently competative. They could have used rats instead, but, you know, male rats are very social and tend to get fat and lazy with age, and are habitual omnivores, unlike most mice. People who have owned male rats, I am sure you have dealt with one like my first rat, who was a huge beast (he weighed about three pounds at his fattest and was twice the length of most adult pet rats I have seen) who had to be coaxed into exercise by turning it into a socially involved game. I wonder at the gendered assumptions going into using an aggressive non-social animal as the analog for male behavior in humans, rather than going with the higher intelligence social animal as a model.
Love the picture!
I too find exercise a great treatment for depression. Unfortunately it’s not perfect; I have a cold and an injury at the moment which mean that I can’t do my usual thing at the gym and it’s hard finding good alternatives. But I definitely agree that exercise has a great effect on wellbeing.
A little bit of exercise just makes me feel like shit. More than that, and I’m curled up in pain (+ a pile of other symptoms) for days, and possibly flaring for weeks. But yay exercise, right? It fixes everything! Everyone should exercise more!