Anxiety and depression

[NorwegianWood]

I'm interested in how people who suffer anxiety and depression have responded to Couch to 5K. Have the effects been lasting? I'm wondering how much Couch to 5K might be recommended for those folk across on the Anxiety and Depression Support group on Health Unlocked.

[ButtercupKid Graduate]

Physical exercise can boost mood and self respect, but struggling to keep up with targets can be undermining. I experience bouts of depression and anxiety fairly regularly, and I find this programme helpful - especially in combination with the forum, which gives terrific support and encouragement - but not in any sense a lasting cure.

[NorwegianWood Graduate in reply to ButtercupKid]

Many thanks @ButtercupKid. I think most people have given up the idea of a lasting cure, but if it's another useful tool along the way then it may help to relieve the burden of anxiety and depression.

[ButtercupKid Graduate in reply to NorwegianWood]

I certainly wouldn’t knock it. Clinical anxiety is basically overproduction of adrenalin, and the best way to burn off adrenalin quickly is by physical exercise. So it’s a win 😀

[peaplodder]

As someone who has suffered from anxiety and depression for decades I have found C25k extremely helpful. I completed the programme nearly 6 years ago and have been running in a very small way ever since. Its been helpful in getting me out of the house into the great outdoors, given me greater confidence in navigating the wider world and has also had the benefit of increasing my social interactions through regular attendance and volunteering at parkrun every week. Not a cure but definitely a huge help.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Many of the other forums do link to us and we to them....We here, really do advocate C25K as, not just for running, Mental Health too benefits from it.

Just a part of a greater picture, but certainly for many many very helpful.

It is my stress relief...I recharge and refresh... I let any stresses and strains float away... and feel ready to face the challenges of life

[sTrongFuse Graduate]

I find it helps. Parkrun aside, all of my running is on my own (and even at parkrun, I tend to just zone out). Having my own space several times a week where I don't need to think and can just concentrate on the natural rhythms of my breathing and footfalls does tend to clear the mind.

It's not a cure by any means; the dark times still happen, and they can still be just as bad, but I do find that, generally, my mood is a bit brighter overall and that the downturns are a bit further apart.

Sometimes if I can feel the dark clouds closing in, going for a run will dispel them, but depression being what it is, when I'm having a bad spell, getting out for a run is the last thing on my mind.

I guess it's a Kind of complimentary therapy; it helps keep it at bay, but I need to accept that it isn't a miracle cure that's going to rid me of it forever.

[ktsok Graduate]

You have to be/to learn a bit of resilience, when running. There are disappointments when you feel you haven’t run well, when you get injured, when you don’t go for a run when you had planned to. Lots of way to beat yourself up, if that’s what you are prone to doing. At the same time, it is an amazing feeling to realise that you can, indeed, run! Seeing those targets of 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5, 15, 30 met... can lead to feelings of empowerment and appreciation of our body and mental grit. It still seems impressive to me, a year on, that I can run for 30 minutes. And even if I don’t always feel great running, I nearly always feel great afterwards.

The forum is so supportive, and was a big part of my C25k journey. It still is. I’d recommend joining it so people know they aren’t alone in their running tribulations and triumphs.

[MrWomble Graduate]

There's a very good book by Bella Mackie called 'Jog on' in which she shares her story of dealing with anxiety through running. She also quotes a lot of scientific studies on the benefits of exercise and running in particular.

amazon.co.uk/Jog-How-Runnin...

[Orange_Girl Graduate]

Just found this post. My very first post was about starting C25K amidst a pretty serious period of depression that has felt at times very devastating. It has really helped me to be doing this Programme and I can tell that after 6 weeks I’m in a different place mentally than I was at the beginning, as well as fitness benefits and the achievement of having run for 25 minutes thus far.

Maybe part of the challenge if you are someone who has had recurring experience of depression (as I have) is recognising that you live with it and to a greater or lesser extent have to manage that. I’m finding this forum really helpful too ... It’s a sort of kindness of strangers thing.

Thanks for asking the question Norwegian Wood.