Download Depression is a common but serious issue that affects many people

Depression is a common but serious issue that affects many people. If gone untreated, it
can become a severe threat to one?s health.
Almost everyone has been in the situation feeling blue or depressed, from a few hours to several
days. Major depressive disorders though, last more than a couple of weeks, and is a serious
psychological disorder, with changes in physiology. Most of us can relate to feeling depressed,
and can understand how this problem may affect our health if ignored for too long.
What are some symptoms of depression?
Depression can affect your mood, behavior and thoughts. You may feel ‘depressed’ for the better
part of a day, each day, and may feel worthless or blame yourself undeservedly, and may have
trouble focusing and making decisions. You may also lose energy, or interest in any pleasurable
activity, and sleeping and eating may be troubled. You may also be stuck on being alone, and
staying in. On a grim note, thoughts of death or suicide are also common in depressed people.
For a short spell of depression, most of the time, only a few of these symptoms are around. If you
find yourself having most of the symptoms, more than 5, then it is possible you may be clinically
depressed, and should visit a doctor to make a proper diagnosis. (1)
What are some treatment options and/or ways of relieving depression?
To relieve depression, try to keep yourself in a group of supportive people and steal away from
unnecessary stressors. If you can think of what stressor may be causing your depression, take it
out of your life as soon as possible.
Having a lifestyle similar to an athlete can really help. For diet, a nutrient-rich balance of
carbohydrates, protein and fats, including fish oils, can help maintain healthy neurotransmitter
levels. Also, exercise is helpful in maintaining healthy levels of neurotransmitters involved in
depression, improving circulation and can release transmitters linked to pleasure. Exercise can
give you a sense of pride, and worth, so you may not feel as down on yourself. Also, exercise can
help you become more aware of your mind and body, which can be fairly therapeutic.
For therapeutic treatments of clinical depression, behavior and cognitive therapies can help
control or relieve symptoms of depression. For severe cases, ECT and TMS are used discretely.
As far as pharmaceutical drugs go, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and monoamine oxidase
inhibitors (MAOIs) are all carefully prescribed to help in psychological depression.
Taking a natural and supplementary route, St. John’s Wort, Rhodiola rosea and 5-HTP can help
maintain a non-depressed mood. (2)
How can depression affect a bodybuilder?
Excess stress on your mind and body, common in depressed people, can result in decreases in
immunity, and strength. These of course are necessary in bodybuilding to recover and put in
work. Depression can disrupt eating patterns, making meals hard to get in or resist, depending on
your fitness goal. Disrupted sleep patterns can make recovery difficult, or keep your body
fatigued. Also, without any motivation to get in the gym, or go out for that run, work can’t be done
to help you towards your goal. With motivation, a fatigued body and an unfocused mind won’t
help at all pushing weight or running those miles.
Another risk a bodybuilder may have with depression is dependency on drugs or certain
substances. This can be a bigger problem if the athlete is depressed about not having an ideal
body, or has just lost a contest, for example.
BONUS QUESTION: Have you or someone you know suffered from depression? How did
you/they deal with it?
Like I mentioned first, nearly everyone has been depressed in some form. While the severity and
seriousness can vary among people, most can relate to the feeling of depression.
I have had shorter stints of depression, but never longer than a few days. I have used St. John’s
Wort, and it did elevate my mood somewhat, but more greatly helped against anxiety and panic
attacks. I’ve always been active, so the lack of activity at first doesn’t bother me, but on further
days, starts making me anxious. This gives me a mild anxiety attack that distracts from the
depressive lack of motivation and makes me get back into it. This little bit of activity alone usually
is enough to help me out of my mild depression.
Cheers
mrkdrt
References
(1) DSM-IV – American Psychiatric Association
(2) Kosslyn and Rosenberg (2005)