If you look at many high functioning people who have experienced depression, you often find exercise is part of their recovery. The likes of Tim Ferris, Stephen Fry and world class endurance athlete Christopher Bergland all have credited exercise to helping them maintain and improve their mental health (if you do a little more research online you’ll find the list is extensive). Exercise has been found to have comparable effects to anti-depressant medication in a number of studies. Not to mention the fact that there are all of the additional health benefits of exercise.

But what if you can’t get off the couch, out of bed or think clearly enough to exercise? We all find it difficult to exercise at times, imagine how difficult it is when you are suffering from major depression and you can barely move. I have experienced this dark place myself and it feels like an Olympian feat to simply get moving! But we do have some agency in the painful abyss of depression. We can strengthen the ability to make healthy choices whilst carrying these Atlas-like emotions on our backs. This is where scheduling physical activity in your BA schedule can be so helpful and having the support of friends and family to get you moving. Here are a few other ideas that might help:

7. Start small and build up – Walking is a really useful tool here. The key is to start with a really small and gentle amount. This might even be walking round your house for 2 minutes. Then moving onto a 5-minute brisk walk, then 10 minutes round the block and upwards. Also try integrating exercise with things, you have to do in your day – like commuting, shopping or visiting friends.

Exercising with other people is even more powerful and if you get out in nature as well then you have the coup de gras. It can be beneficial to do a mixture of relaxing and slow exercise like yoga & tai chi and also more intense aerobic exercise & weight lifting. This combination can have a really positive impact on our mental health.

8.What if it’s boring – A lot of people find exercise boring, even when they are feeling well, so (as always) be kind and self-compassionate. If exercise is boring then you might not have found the right fit. What did you use to enjoy before depression? Think back to when you were a kid (a useful tool for filling your BA schedule more generally) and what games, sports, outdoor activities did you use to enjoy and can you add them back in? Connect with other people in groups. Get an exercise buddy to help motivate you. Sometimes (as long as we have the all clear from our doctor) boredom can be a sign that we are not pushing ourselves hard enough. We might need a bit more sweat to access the pleasant rewards of exercise. Its also important to congratulate yourself in your head for achieving your goal when you finish your exercise. Many people don’t do this last step and often berate themselves and go straight into negative rumination after exercise.

Can we use exercise to train our focus and concentration, either through mindfulness of movement and breath or even by listening to music or a favourite podcast? Every time our mind drifts away we notice and come back. Sometimes people use exercise as a time to ruminate, engage in self-criticism or to worry. Can we notice and accept these thoughts and bring our minds back to the present moment? You can use encouraging self-talk to help you as we have talked about in the previous articles. Just like an endurance athlete encourages themselves internally and thinks of their goals.

Some theorists suggest that the stress of living a modern life, far from what we evolved for in the Pleistocene epoch, is one cause of the rise in depression. Indigenous cultures that report much lower levels of depression tend to get 4 hours + of exercise a day (just by going about their day and living their lives) and middle aged and older individuals are built like Olympic athletes! Can we reclaim a bit of this indigenous antidepressant lifestyle by building more exercise into our lives? Alongside exercise, a healthy diet and sleep are incredibly important ways to take care of ourselves and build into our behavioural activation. We will look at these topics in future articles.

Let me know your favourite ways to activate yourself through exercise below?