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When you're under a cloud of depression, making decisions and taking action can be agonizingly difficult. The idea of getting on your feet and going out for a walk can seem like an enormous challenge. But if you can rouse yourself and make yourself get out that door, you'll be doing yourself a favor.
Going for a walk may seem a small matter to someone who is not dealing with depression. For the depressed individual, this is not such an easy undertaking. But the benefits can help to dislodge the depression that is holding you down.
Okay. You made it outside. Now what? Where would you like to go?
If it was especially tough to make this start, you might want to keep things short. Take a stroll down the street, and head back home if that feels like it was all you could handle. Go for a drive to an area you like, and walk around for awhile when you get there. When you've had enough, head on back to the car and consider yourself done for the day.
Some people prefer to do this alone. They don't want anybody looking at them and they don't want to talk. Others will find going for a walk much easier to do if they have company. If this is you, walking with one friend or a group may help you to make this a regular part of your lifestyle and encourage you not to let it slide.
Bored with walking? Listen to an audiobook or some music while you do your tour of duty. Music provides beneficial brain stimulation so take advantage of this lift out of depression, however temporary.
Don't want to go outside? If you've got a treadmill, you can do your paces inside. You don't have to like walking in order to reap the benefits. Hate to walk? Put your treadmill where you can see your TV and watch your favorite show while you stroll.
Maybe you're not much on walking but you look forward to where your walk is taking you every day. Going to your favorite restaurant for a drink or a snack at the end of your walk? Let that drink or snack lead you on, and start mentally enjoying your reward before you get there.
And since going for a walk also gets you away from your TV, you may have just loosened depression's hold on you a little bit. A study from Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary suggested a link between watching TV and depression.
Walking briskly is most likely to help lessen depression. Activity increases the endorphins released into your blood, and can increase your sense of control over your own life. Both of these things can enhance your self-esteem.
Jody Smith is a freelance writer for EmpowHER.com.
Sources:
Move It! How to Exercise When You're Depressed
http://www.livescience.com/15391-depression-exercise-benefits-tips.html
Too little exercise, too much TV tied to depression
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/12/us-exercise-depression-idUSTRE7AB02220111112
Related Links:
Food and Fitness -- One Woman's Journey
http://www.empowher.com/emotional-health/content/food-and-fitness-one-womans-journey
Gender Impacts Risk of Depression
http://www.empowher.com/depression/content/gender-impacts-risk-depression
Are You Too Sick to Workout?
http://www.empowher.com/fitness/content/are-you-too-sick-workout
