Physical exercise helps ease depression

15 February, 2008

A survey conducted in the United Kingdom has shown that people suffering from depression can improve their mental health simply by doing some kind of physical exercise. It also found that general practitioners are increasingly prescribing exercise for people with depression.

The Mental Health Foundation, which surveyed 200 general practitioners in the United Kingdom, found that 22% of them suggest exercise to help people with milder forms of depression, compared to just 5% found in a similar survey conducted three years ago.

Research conducted in many parts of the world has shown that exercise can help people with mild forms of depression through improving self-esteem – that is, through better body image or achieving goals, and by relieving feelings of isolation, which inevitably can increase their depression. Physical exercise also releases chemicals such as endorphins, which give the patient a feeling of wellness.

BBC News quoted Celia Richardson, campaigns director for the Mental Health Foundation, as saying," Exercise can help people physically, socially and biologically. The people often meet others who have been in the same situation as them, but are now further down the line and feeling better.”

The survey also revealed that more people suffering from depression are now interested in knowing how exercise can help them.

The Mental Health Foundation of the United Kingdom has been campaigning for the last three years to increase the use of exercise for mild to moderate depression. The Foundation is currently working to identify the barriers that prevent exercise therapy from being offered universally and is also carrying out a research program, working with six sites across England that run exercise referral schemes.

The findings of the research will be published in early 2009.