I can just imagine how powerful it would be if every doctor prescribed exercise to their patients with depression. However, I believe patients may feel like their problems are being trivalized if told to go exercise. Also, people tend to want a pill to fix things quickly. Daily exercise to someone depressed would feel daunting.
Hi Karmin - yep, agreed. Like any intervention, exercise wouldn't be the best option for everyone. And I imagine that for most people, it wouldn't be the only option, but rather part of an overall therapeutic plan. Some might feel it's trivializing their problems to be told they should exercise, but a good therapist would hopefully challenge that view - after all, if exercise really works, then it's no more dismissive to prescribe exercise than to prescribe CBT or antidepressants. It doesn't imply that depression is any less than what it is. If it seems to be trivializing it, that could just be because people underestimate the therapeutic potential of exercise.
I can just imagine how powerful it would be if every doctor prescribed exercise to their patients with depression. However, I believe patients may feel like their problems are being trivalized if told to go exercise. Also, people tend to want a pill to fix things quickly. Daily exercise to someone depressed would feel daunting.
Hi Karmin - yep, agreed. Like any intervention, exercise wouldn't be the best option for everyone. And I imagine that for most people, it wouldn't be the only option, but rather part of an overall therapeutic plan. Some might feel it's trivializing their problems to be told they should exercise, but a good therapist would hopefully challenge that view - after all, if exercise really works, then it's no more dismissive to prescribe exercise than to prescribe CBT or antidepressants. It doesn't imply that depression is any less than what it is. If it seems to be trivializing it, that could just be because people underestimate the therapeutic potential of exercise.