Trish's exercise experiment

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I wanted to find out if exercise really would improve my depression, so have decided to give it a go for a week. Wish me luck…

Day 0

I do the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) test and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) which are available if you sign up to Living Life to the Full at www.livinglifetothefull.com. My score is 16 in the HAD and 24 in the PHQ which means I have clinical depression. I knew that, but it’s still quite well depressing seeing it in writing. I find myself feeling hopeless and wondering what the point of trying to do exercise is when my depression is so bad. I don’t feel like there is any hope that it will get better and attempting to swim a few lengths of the pool isn’t going to help. Maybe I’m too depressed to do this.

Day 1

Actually this is Day 1 Mark 4. I had planned to start on Sunday and today is Wednesday. I find it very hard to motivate myself to exercise; it seems there is always a convenient excuse why I cannot do it. Today it is still really hard to get going and I nearly don’t bother. However, getting there is much harder than the actual exercise. When I start swimming, I remember how much I like it. I was very slow, not having done much exercise for a while, and everyone else seemed slimmer and faster than me but I try not to let that bother me and remind myself that they all had to start somewhere. Afterwards, I am surprised that I feel a bit better and find myself singing along to the radio in the car.

Day 2

I get off the bus two stops early and walk briskly to work. On the way home I get off four stops early. In total I walk for about 35 minutes. I find it quite hard walking home up the hill as I’m tired after work. Today I find I also want to drink more water which is a good thing as I usually live on tea and diet drinks. I feel ok by the time I get home which is an improvement on my usual crappy feelings.

Day 4

Had a day off yesterday and now it’s Saturday and I want to spend my weekend duvet diving. I feel really lethargic and do not want to exercise. But after a lot of self talk I dig my cycle out of the shed where it has been abandoned for quite a while and cycle around for half an hour. Ok, pushing a bike up a hill must count as moderate exercise? I do feel better afterwards and that I deserve the chocolate bar I bought en route!

Day 5

I meet a friend for a walk in the Pentland Hills. It’s much easier to get motivated when I’ve got someone to meet. We walk for about an hour and a half, the first half of which is uphill. Time passes quickly because we’re having a good gossip. It’s a sunny day and it feels good to get away from the city. Feel cheerful and arrange to go swimming with my friend soon.

Day 7

I had a day off on day 6 and I wake today up feeling awful. It’s hard to get going and I feel bad all day. Again it takes a monumental effort to go swimming after work. The pool is crowded but I manage around half an hour. I felt much better afterwards – I love endorphins!

Day 8

So it’s the day of reckoning, has this helped at all? My score in both the PHQ and the HAD is 11! While it still says that I have significant symptoms, this puts me squarely in the “moderate” category. I’m really pleased. It’s not scientific at all and doesn’t take into account other things that could affect my mood like my medication, what is happening in my life, my relationships, what I’ve had to eat and drink, the Moon in Virgo and all the other things.

I have found that while I can be very resistant to exercise, especially when my mood is low, the improvement in mood is well worth the effort to get going. I will be looking for ways I can incorporate more exercise in my life, even if it is just getting off the bus a couple of stops early.

Has exercise helped you improve your mood? Send us your story.

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