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Exercise can be more effective than medication to treat depression.


[Cl...]

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Hi Clark,

 

I agree with you. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain which improve the feel good factor. Also exercise uses up all the pent up adrenaline which we experience so much of when going through this process. Personally I try to take gentle exercise every day, preferably outdoors in sunshine to help increase vitamin D.

 

Debbie

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I agree as well.  I wish I had known this before I was put on Paxil and Klonopin.  Oh well, I've learned my lesson now ...
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I kept trying to exercise while depressed on this medication. I did regular zombie walks around the neighborhood. I ended up walking so slow I was practically moving backwards at time. I tried, but sometimes the physical and chemical cards really are stacked against you.

 

I have a lot more compassion now for people with depression. I see now in retrospect the battle I was facing. You can do things for depression but it's so chemical. It's like trying to crawl out of a jar coated with oil.

 

Until you get that mysterious chemical lift, it's hard.

 

But yes, if you look at the effectiveness rate for drugs that treat depression it's not very impressive.

 

 

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Goto,

Congratulations to you for being off benzos...I'm still doing the zombie shuffle too. :)

 

Molly :smitten:

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Hi,

 

Just a quick questión: How do you motivate yourself to do excersise regularly?. I am a lazy ass person. :P

Thanks,

S

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The key to getting regular exercise is to find a hobby that you really enjoy, and that also gives you exercise! For instance, for a few years I was into in-line skating, which is great exercise. Now I work so hard (my job is very physically demanding) that I don't need or have time for more exercise. I decided a few years ago, that I would never do any physical exertion unless I enjoyed it or was getting paid for it. Bicycling, gardening, hiking, dancing, all of these are fun and will get you the exercise you need. Heck going to the mall and shopping will give you a good walk!
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I could not have made it through withdrawal without walking, and walking as fast as I felt able to. I have cut BACK to only 2 hours walking a day. There are times when I feel very tired, and then I sleep extra. But there are other times when I feel amped up, more of what I can only call "adrenaline spikes", and when these spikes hit I have to move. If I did not, I would have to ask for some kind of drug to control the "too much energy" I get.

 

There is NOTHING I can take that calms me down anywhere near as much as exercise.

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Goto,

Congratulations to you for being off benzos...I'm still doing the zombie shuffle too. :)

 

Thank you.

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Hi exerciser BB's, Including you, Southern, lol

 

It is hard to do it. I am so uncomfortable much of the time and walking or riding my bike is like a distraction that it makes it worth it to me to make the effort to just do it. I do feel better when I do, just being out in the sunshine. Its hard to get going, just the getting ready to do it can be too much in depression.

 

I read an article, probably at livestrong, but about getting motivated to exercise. It said, just walk in and put your running shoes on and walk out the door. Right now. Hair crazy, no teeth brushed, in the shirt you are wearing and go. Or, I like yoga...there is magic in yoga and its really easy to do and you don't have to leave your house, but I yoga has typically been ritualistic for me. I like to light my candles, and incense put my yoga outfit on, make a cup of tea....you get the picture. But the suggestion was to get the pillow under your bum and sit on the carpet and just do a routine that you knew and that helped so much.

 

Sometimes I don't feel better, sometimes after walking I am in a lot of pain, actually, but my brain almost always feel better. The stretching from yoga has always lended to a more comfortable body and brain feeling, even if I am in my pjs and just on the carpet doing the poses that I can remember that it feels like my body needs.

 

Recently I got a bike, and I love to ride it. I don't go too far, since I still get anxiety about having to figure something out if I get a flat or something breaks, but just riding it in my neighborhood a short distance for my easy errands is really gratifying, even on my worst days. I get giddy about it like a kid!  :)

 

Goto,

What you said here :

You can do things for depression but it's so chemical. It's like trying to crawl out of a jar coated with oil.

 

Until you get that mysterious chemical lift, it's hard.

 

It is mysterious. I agree that there is much merit to overcoming this debilitating depression with exercise and a good diet, compared to quick fix medications.

 

I google yoga for beginners, or depression, or whatever is ailing me at the time, lower back, head cold, pms....and I find easy yogas to practice. Its really a perfect exercise for withdrawal as it is soothing to the mind as well as helps stretch out the aches and pains that riddle even the most fit.

 

I am going to just quick post this easy and super short one, its so easy you might think it does nothing for you, but I encourage you to do it every morning for a week at your computer when you first sit down and see how you feel. Seriously it's 4 min and you do it sitting at your chair...in your pjs...or yesterdays clothes (I don't want to mention any names here...lol)

4 minute neck and shoulder seated yoga

 

Be well, BB's as well as you can be :)

 

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I appreciate this thread on exercise. I had a good routine of swimming going during acute w/d but I guess I over did it as I lost all strength in the pool and wondered how I was going to get out. I made it one stroke at a time very slowly and came home and collapsed in bed. Then I pushed thru sxs to try a yoga class.  I had intense muscle pain and was down for days. It has been very hard to be consistent. I haven't dared try exercising except short walks to the corner and back. Maybe I just need to be content with smaller efforts to exercise. It's better than nothing. Thanks for the tips on mini yoga sessions.

 

Healingnow

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I appreciate this thread on exercise. I had a good routine of swimming going during acute w/d but I guess I over did it as I lost all strength in the pool and wondered how I was going to get out. I made it one stroke at a time very slowly and came home and collapsed in bed. Then I pushed thru sxs to try a yoga class.  I had intense muscle pain and was down for days. It has been very hard to be consistent. I haven't dared try exercising except short walks to the corner and back. Maybe I just need to be content with smaller efforts to exercise. It's better than nothing. Thanks for the tips on mini yoga sessions.

 

Healingnow

The only weakness I have felt has to do with things that don't get a lot of air into my lungs. The bathroom tub was dirty, and I wanted to take only about 10 minutes to clean it. It involves a bit of Soft Scrub and a little elbow grease. Five minutes and my heart was racing. Benzo Hot Flash.

 

I'm going to use that a lot. It is faster to type than Adrenaline Surge, and easier to explain. It is an equal opportunity and MISERABLE sx that hits someone 21 and male as hard as someone much older, and it is gender neutral. A really nasty thing. The gift that keeps on giving.

 

So bam, BHF hits me like a tsunami, but within 30 minutes of walking I felt fine. For me anything that starts to get into the aerobic class kills anxiety. I have to breath harder and make sure my metabolism is jacked up for real, then the false adrenaline surge goes away - for awhile.

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Gaer, I am glad you can walk for long periods. Sounds like that is a good tool for you. When I am at a public event and start to get those surges if I get up and walk around I feel better. Luckily that is not one of my main sxs.
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Gaer, I am glad you can walk for long periods. Sounds like that is a good tool for you. When I am at a public event and start to get those surges if I get up and walk around I feel better. Luckily that is not one of my main sxs.

For me it is my only serious sx, and that is why it bothers me so much when I get hit with it, at work, and can't move...

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  • 2 weeks later...
I was just looking for something like this.  I'm just like you Fishinguy.  They put me on Paxil and then Chlonozapem.  I am in Chlonozapem withdrawal and if it doesn't go away in the next 4 weeks, my doctor wants to put me on Seroquel along with Paxil that I have been on for 30 months.  I tried to get off the Paxil a couple of times and couldn't, but I didn't do it right. I took the chlonopazem for 2 months and my doctor told me to just quit, which I did and now, I'm dealing with withdrawal side effects.  I have to get my receptors back to normal levels.  I feel like I am at a crossroad.  I can sit on my ass and wind up zoned out for the rest of my life,  or I can go downstairs and take the coats off the elliptical and treadmill and take some personal control back to how I feel.  I'm not talking about getting ready for the Olympics.  I'm talking about letting my body produce some natural remedy for the depression and maybe having a chance to be pill free again.  it is always hard for me to think I am depressed because I don't feel depressed, just lousy.  Maybe, that's the same thing.  Hopefully, this could be the kick start I need.  Thanks to all for your comments and insight. 
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I was just looking for something like this.  I'm just like you Fishinguy.  They put me on Paxil and then Chlonozapem.  I am in Chlonozapem withdrawal and if it doesn't go away in the next 4 weeks, my doctor wants to put me on Seroquel along with Paxil that I have been on for 30 months.  I tried to get off the Paxil a couple of times and couldn't, but I didn't do it right. I took the chlonopazem for 2 months and my doctor told me to just quit, which I did and now, I'm dealing with withdrawal side effects.  I have to get my receptors back to normal levels.  I feel like I am at a crossroad.  I can sit on my ass and wind up zoned out for the rest of my life,  or I can go downstairs and take the coats off the elliptical and treadmill and take some personal control back to how I feel.  I'm not talking about getting ready for the Olympics.  I'm talking about letting my body produce some natural remedy for the depression and maybe having a chance to be pill free again.  it is always hard for me to think I am depressed because I don't feel depressed, just lousy.  Maybe, that's the same thing.  Hopefully, this could be the kick start I need.  Thanks to all for your comments and insight.

 

I hope things improve for you soon.

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