What Are Some Signs Of Depression, Exercise Increases Serotonin?
Q: Something I saw on the news last night really got me pissed. It was
a feature that focused on the benefits of exercise for people with
depression.
A:Before I go on, I just want to express how dismayed I was to see
all the truly venomous posts in response to the well-intentioned
contributor who made but a few constructive suggestions regarding
non-drug ways to help deal with depression. I thought they were
pretty good. One of them involved exercise. Although my depressive
state is usually too vegetative for them to be relevant, they
sounded like some worthwhile things to try for when things improve
a bit. I imagine there are some people for whom the character and
magnitude of their depression would allow them to find some of
his/her suggestions useful.
Getting back to what irritated me about the news story...
There were several "facts" that I took exception to.
1. Depression is caused by low levels of serotonin.
2. 1 in 4 people suffer from depression at some point in their lives.
3. Exercise is an effective antidepressant because it raises levels of
serotonin.
I am going to make a few statements that I invite constructive and
thoughtful response to. But I'm not going make a research project
out of this, and I'm not looking to begin a sophisticated
discussion of the neurobiology of affective-disorders. My only two
agenda are to get well and offer what little I have to help others
along the way. I do not consider myself a reliable source of the
compendium of medical literature published this decade, so please
help me out. Citations of literature are greatly appreciated.
1. There is no convincing evidence that depression is caused by a
lack of sufficient levels of serotonin. While the alteration of
function in serotonergic pathways may be important, I haven't
seen a deluge of studies saying, "We measured the amount of
serotonin in the neurons of the brain and found that it was too
low." That a drug affecting serotonergic neurons works for
depression doesn't mean that those neurons are where the
disorder "starts".
2. There are plenty of effective antidepressant drugs that
selectively inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine without any
apparent direct action on serotonergic neurons. I would hate to
see anyone hesitate to try desipramine or viloxazine just
because they are not considered "serotonergic" drugs.
3. I have trouble with the claim that 1 in 4 people suffer from
depression at some time in their lives. They used to say it was
1 in 10. Are we becoming a more popular club? Is it simply a
difference in reporting that has occurred because of increased
awareness? What did they mean by depressed? "I got depressed
when my boss said he liked John's idea more than mine." All
those people in the gym who were exercising their blues away
looked pretty vital to me. If 1 in 4 suffer from depression,
perhaps people are justified in regarding those of us who
participate in this newsgroup as being weak and lacking in
character. If most of the 1 in 4 can successfully "pull
themselves up by their bootstraps", that leaves the rest of us
as being failures.
4. For some people suffering from depression, exercise provides
little or no benefit. (If anyone comes across any of the stuff
regarding exercise and its influence on serotonin, please post
it or e-mail me.)
I thought this stuff was important to post. Maybe it is all wrong,
but I try to contribute with a sense of responsibility to those who
might read anything I have to say. If what we as individuals or a
group thing or believe is wrong, let us try to correct it - for our
own sake. Let us also be tolerant and considerate of our
differences in opinion and belief. Debate is constructive.
This is just sloppy talk. Lay people can be forgiven for sloppy
talk. Scientists cannot. NOBODY knows what "causes" depression. Here is
the example I use in teaching about depression and schizophrenia versus
Parkinson's disease. The SYMPTOMS of Parkinson's desease are caused by
alterations in dopamine neurotransmission. The SYMPTOMS of Parkinson's
disease can be helped with drugs that replace lost dopamine. The CAUSE of
Parkinson's symptoms *IS* a degeneration of neurons that contain
dopamine.