Depression is a condition that attacks you self-esteem. The thoughts that run through your mind while you are battling a bout of depression–whether a slight case of the blahs to a full on case of clinical depression–are salacious lies, but because of a ‘weakened mental immune system,’ seem obviously true.
A great way to combat the forces of depression is through regular physical activity. Improved self-esteem is a key psychological benefit, as chemicals called endorphins are released into your body as you exercise. This is literally a drug with analgesics similarities to morphine produced inside your body to regulate the pain inside your body (physical and mental), without leading to addiction or dependence on a substance (although you could find yourself needing a workout fix if your stress level increases after missing too many workouts in a row, but that is not such a bad thing).
Along with the ability to ward off anxiety attacks and feelings of depression, many of the other benefits of regular exercise seem obvious, except to those who don’t know. These benefits include: strengthening your heart, lowering your blood pressure, increasing your natural level of energy, improving muscle tone, reducing body fat, and strengthen bones. All of these factors will lead to a fitter and healthier looking you, which is also great for a boost to your self-esteem.
While I am not a doctor, I have done plenty of research on the use of exercise to combat my depressive nature, and there is not study that shows that exercise can be bad for you, assuming you have no other physical illness or limitation to keep you from it.
Studies are also not conclusive on what can be considered the best exercise to combat depression, but just like the war against weight loss, the exercise you do consistently is going to work out the best for you in the long run.
There are to matching sentiments associated with the use of exercise to fight depression: get moving and be social. Joining a class or group for exercise can boost your participation form encouragement and friendly completion. As far as getting moving, some popular forms of exercise that promote this include: walking, jumping, jogging, biking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, tennis or other racket sports, swimming, yoga, or just gardening and yard work with the family.