MDD and impact on physical health

[Absentmind]

Hello- New here. I was diagnosed with MDD over 5 years ago and have never went into remission. I exercise every single day and have been for years. Doctors always said exercise would improve your mood and I listened and exercised more when it did not. Well my mood never improved and instead has impacted my physical health. I know lots of people have chronic MDD and I am just one of millions. Over time my physical health has deteriorated. I still force myself to exercise everyday. Today has been rough with bouts of nausea and trying to keep exercising with the heavy weight on my chest and fatigue. I don’t have the stamina that I did, constant stomach problems, chronic pain etc. What I learned is exercise can help but not a cure for depression. You can’t exercise depression away. Have others noticed their physical health deteriorate over time with Depression?

[PeaceNeed]

Just saw ur post hope ur still there. My health has deteriorated. I try to exercise and take long nature walks. My dep has gotten worse. Im growing older in a society that dont treat old people well to begin with.

[Absentmind in reply to PeaceNeed]

Hi Max2012- Thank you for your response. It is so hard to have medical issues as it does make it harder to deal with depression. I recently went to a chiropractor regarding pain and neuropathy which my doctor said it was from old age. The chiropractor said it was not from old age and I had a bulging disc in my back that he could work on and gave me some stretches to help get it back in place. This does not solve all my medical problems but it gave me hope. We should be valuing our elders. You have knowledge and experience others do not have. You are important to society. Doctors should be providing hope for chronic medical conditions instead of giving the messages nothing can be done as this just causes hopelessness. It makes me angry they treat us this way. You are strong with doing your walks and spending time in nature despite your health challenges. You inspire me. Thank you. I hope things get better for you soon. Hang in there.

[PeaceNeed in reply to Absentmind]

Not easy Im older and not resilient .

[Absentmind]

I really believe society should be definitively taking care of and respecting our elders. My experience in the medical field is they tend to de-humanize us as patients which is awful. It is hard to find a provider that actually works with their patient and sees them as they really are not some stereotype because of our age, gender etc. I may not be as old as you but I have been pushed aside for being female and old as well like you don’t matter and tossed aside. You do matter and important in our society. You have so much more knowledge and experience than the young. I see you as resilient even though you may not feel that way. You have been through a lot, way more than others and you are still walking and spending time in nature despite all your challenges. Just reading your response of walking and spending time in nature inspires me to keep going.