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@lizzard@social.tchncs.de · 2 months ago

Can someone point me to some research that proves that sports or bodily activity actually *cause* improvements in #depression and #burnout , rather than just correlate?

I've just been told again to just "go for walks more" by a doctor and I find it really fucking hard to implement. I need some convincing.

Because I'm well able to believe that people who are able to do sports also improve their depression (correlation), because the damage to their ability to be active just isn't as big. I need to see actual causation, please.

Retoots welcome for range.

lizzzzard

@lizzard@social.tchncs.de replied · 2 months ago

I found this http://faculty.cas.usf.edu/mbrannick/meta/CMA/Kvam2016ExerciseDepressionMeta.pdf

"Physical exercise had a moderate to large significant effect on depression compared to control conditions (g¼ -0.68), but the effect was small and
not significant at follow-up (g¼ -0.22). Exercise compared to no intervention yielded a large and sig-
nificant effect size (g¼ -1.24), and exercise had a moderate and significant effect compared to usual care
(g¼ -0.48). The effects of exercise when compared to psychological treatments or antidepressant medication were small and not significant (g¼ -0.22 and g¼ -0.08, respectively). Exercise as an adjunct
to antidepressant medication yielded a moderate effect (g¼ - 0.50) that trended toward significance."

Which I read as "if you're depressed enough to need meds, the effect of exercise is a lot less clear"

Strypey

@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz replied · 2 weeks ago

@lizzard
> Can someone point me to some research that proves that sports or bodily activity actually *cause* improvements in depression and burnout

I'm not aware of any research, sorry. But since my teens I've suffered from periods of intense dysfunction that could be characterised as chronic depression or autistic burnout. My experience is that it depends on the *kind* of exercise. Gentle walking - especially in nature and with company - does help, if I don't push myself into it or overdo it.

lizzzzard

@lizzard@social.tchncs.de replied · 2 weeks ago

@strypey this post was a while ago, and I've since found that regular walks *do* help me. A key for actually going on these walks was, for me, giving myself permission to not feel good about it. It's okay to just grumble along in the woods.

Strypey

@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz replied · 2 weeks ago

@lizzard
> this post was a while ago

Ae, I found it via a hashtag search for #burnout. Glad to hear that you've managed some walks and you're finding it helpful. Go you!

> A key for actually going on these walks was, for me, giving myself permission to not feel good about it.

Oh for sure. Burnout makes everything feel like an imposition. Expecting a walk to be enjoyable under those circumstances is setting yourself up for failure ; )

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