New research on depression shows everyone’s favorite exercise can be more effective than medication.
If you are feeling depressed and looking for a solution, there are many options: medication, CBT, DBT, somatic therapy and many more. However, a large recent study found that one treatment – exercise – is more effective for people with depression, often than medication!
The most surprising thing in education? It happens that to dance it is probably more effective than any other form of exercise or therapy for reducing the symptoms of depression! Yes, indeed! Of course, you should always consult with your healthcare provider before changing your treatment, but the science here seems promising.
Exercise is good for depressive symptoms, but one type is especially helpful – dancing
Many people turn to therapy or medication, but science shows that exercise can be just as beneficial. Dancing as a treatment for depression is very effective.
A new study published by BMJ (first British Medical Journal) reviewed many previous studies to determine the optimal dose and type of exercise for treating major depression, compared to psychotherapy, antidepressants, and control conditions.
“Exercise is an effective treatment for depression, with walking or running, yoga, and vigorous exercise more than other exercises, especially when they are vigorous,” the authors concluded. Surprisingly, dancing was at the top of the list!
It is important to note that people with depression should consult with their health care provider before adding or changing treatment options, especially when it comes to medication. However, anyone can start dancing and see how it works!
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Understanding stress as a ‘state of mind’
Mandy Friedman, LPCC-S, on the Lovefraud podcast explains that: Understanding Depression. Symptoms include feeling a lack of motivation, joy and commitment to life. In severe cases, it can lead to thoughts of harming oneself.
What’s happening, Friedman says, is that your brain is sick. Depression is neurobiological and chemical, he says, not a personality flaw. Genetics is often a major factor.
“There are obvious things that can predispose people,” Friedman says. Medical conditions that make people depressed can also be factors.”
Lessons
A BMJ study, The effect of exercise for depression: a systematic review and a network analysis of long-term controlled trials, LEDs by Michael Noetel reviewed 218 previous studies with a total of 14,170 participants. All participants were diagnosed with major depressive disorder. All studies were randomized controlled trials involving exercise as a treatment for depression.
Because the study was so large, the authors were able to compare the strengths of different methods and make more inferences, the authors said.
The study compared exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with medication (serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs). It involved heavy statistical analysis, and that’s where the research on dance came in.
“Compared to an active control, significant reductions in stress were found for dancing, and moderate reductions for walking or running, strength training, exercise mixed aerobic exercise, and tai chi or qigong,” the authors wrote (figures omitted).
“In agreement with other meta-analyses, effects were moderate for cognitive-behavioral therapy alone and smaller for SSRIs compared to active controls,” they wrote (figures omitted) .
The benefits of dance therapy
Barbara Field summarized the work of several other researchers who have specifically studied the therapeutic benefits of dance. Some of the benefits that can help people with depression include:
- Increase endorphins
- It improves your mood
- It reduces loneliness
- It reduces anxiety and depression
- Reduces inflammation
- It improves self-esteem
- It includes social skills
- It reduces the feeling of pain
This article even cites research that shows how choreographed dance improves the structure of the brain. In this study, healthy volunteers in their 60s and 70s learned country dancing, with increasingly difficult steps. After six months, they had thicker white matter in the part of the brain that deals with memory. This did not happen with groups of volunteers who walked or did stretching and balance training.
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Any type of dance works
When you’re feeling down, the last thing you want to do is go to a nightclub. So start easy. Turn on your favorite music and dance in your living room or outdoors. Or try a dance video game.
Finally, you may want to take a dance class. This offers many benefits – learning specific choreography improves your brain, as mentioned above. Something new to do something new helps you overcome frustration and frustration. Dance club is also a social event, so it puts you out there among new people with similar interests.
Dancing as a treatment for depression can help you feel better – without medication.
Donna Andersen is a writer and author who provides advice on escaping and recovering from sociopaths, psychopaths, or narcissists. She has appeared on TV shows such as ABC’s 20/20 and The Ricki Lake Show, as well as in digital and print media publications such as Psychology Today, Marie Claire, Thought Catalog, and the Daily Mail.
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