Exercise is one of the world’s most underutilized anti-depressants. If you’re feeling down, try going for a walk [image]

Have you just tried exercising?

hate this i’ll be honest. I exercise three times a week have been for about a year, guess what, i’m still on antidepressants and anxiety meds.

I think messages like these are deeply problematic:

Exercise absolutely is a great intervention for anxiety. It has lots of great evidence. It has lots of great benefit. It has lots of other benefits on your health in general.

But the problem with the formatting of this message is it’s clearly showing a value judgement. The food part of this message is completely unneeded. If this was actually about empowering and informing people it would read more akin to “Exercise has been show to be as effective as antidepressants for reducing anxiety. To have a citation at the bottom. And some messaging about how exercise, medications, and therapy can all be used TOGETHER”. But it doesn’t. Interventions for mental health don’t exclude each other. Any medical professional worth their salt will 100% to tell you to exercise AND consider medications AND consider mindfulness/meditation AND talk to a psychiatrist/psychologist AND…..other based interventions.

Because this message has a value judgment that is clearly if you’re fat / not eating healthy than your depression / anxiety is your fault. It puts blame on a person rather than motivating and empowering them. Which is the opposite of what a depressed/anxious person needs.

There’s nothing wrong with empowering people to exercise. But this clearly doesn’t

Ah yeah let’s tell people to cure their mental illnesses by walking. If this was true no one would be depressed or anxious.

after a day working I have no motivation or drive left

oh wow thanks i’m cured

/s

This oversimplifies mental health and I feel is dangerous put things like this. Mental health should be managed between the patient and their medical service providers. Food and exercise is only a part of the effort to improving mental health and many people require far more than that.

This is pretty insensitive. While walking can help with mood, it is absolutely not a substitute for clinical depression medication.

Personally, I find that exercise only helps with my depression if I go really hard on my workouts.

If the workout doesn’t suck more than the toughest thing I dealt with that day, it doesn’t give me the mental benefits.

As someone who walks everywhere I go, this is not the best advice. I walk around 20k a day. This would only help with people who have very mild depressive symptoms.

Other have already mentioned but it bears repeating: exercise does not cure depression. Can it help with symptoms? Sure. But it’s not a cure-all.

What in the tumblr is this?

“feeling down” isn’t the same as being depressed…

Your motivational image is bad; and you should feel bad!
—signed everyone with anxiety and depressive disorders that still eat well and exercice

Tell me you have never seen actual depression and anxiety using a poster.