86Thousand400: Prozac Vs Exercise

Prozac is the mother of a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which prevent serotonin from being recycled at the synapse, leaving more available for use, and theoretically restoring normal transmission in the brain.

Prozac was exciting because it worked for a lot of people and it pointed to a single problem that could be fixed. It had a huge impact because it didn't just squelch negativity, it boosted self-esteem.

One of the issues with drugs however are the side effects. A good portion of the patients studied in the book Spark on SSRIs develop problems with their sex lives after a few months.

With regards to exercise aside from elevating endorphins, it also regulates all of the neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressants. Exercise also boosts dopamine, which improves mood and feelings of wellness. Dopamine is all about motivation and attention and studies have shown that chronic exercise increases dopamine storage in the brain.

Serotonin is equally affected by exercise, and it's important for mood, impulse control, and self-esteem. It also helps stave off stress by counteracting cortisol, and it primes the cellular connections in the brain that are important for learning.

Tests on Exercise and recovery from depression:

SMILE (Standard Medical Intervention and Long Term Exercise), James Blumenthal

Blumenthal concluded that exercise was as effective as medication. The patients taking medication experienced more immediate relief, however a crucial aspect of recovering from depression is being able to predict that you're still going to feel good five minutes from now, and then five hours from now. Eventually you'll be confident that you'll feel better tomorrow morning.

Six months after the study, Blumenthal and his colleagues surveyed the patients to see how they were doing and found that exercise worked even better than medicine over the long term.

The most significant predictor of whether someone felt better was how much they exercised. Specifically, every fifty minutes of weekly exercise correlated to a 50% drop in the odds of being depressed.

Does it really matter whether you're less depressed because you exercise or whether you exercise because you're less depressed? Either way, you feel better.

It's possible that taking medication undercut the sense of self-mastery that exercise confers. As a result – all the evidence would show that not only does exercise help with regards to the way you LOOK but it also has a huge impact on the brain and therefore how you FEEL! J