There are plenty of races to benefit a cause, usually to help find a cure for some type of disease, but what about finding a cure for the everyday blues? Everyone has bad days, what is the best way to deal with them? Some may pop open a beer, I run…then I pop open a beer as a reward for accomplishing my goal.
Some Physical Fitness and Obesity Treatment Consultants believe that running or jogging is the best way to cure depression, or “a lot of bad days in a row” for our purposes here. A study found that depressed patients who had done regular exercise had a better result compared to other patients who just relied on the traditional psychological medications to cure depression. According to the chemical imbalance theory, low levels of the brain chemical serotonin lead to depression and depression medication works by bringing serotonin levels back to normal level. Perhaps the exercise helped these patients because of the release of endorphins we get when we attain a runner’s high, worked like depression medication does to offset the low levels of serotonin. I’m not a doctor though, just a runner that is in tune with his body and mind.
The study also found that patients who had done their regular exercise were found to have gained more self confidence, more happiness and a feeling of accomplishment. Self confidence from starting on a run that seemed impossible at the onset, but actually wasn’t as bad as they expect, can really help you realize other aspects of life that may not be as bad as they seem. There is nothing better to cure a negative attitude than to disprove your own perceptions of a difficult situation. Once you are done with that run, you are happy that you accomplished your goals. I’ve found accomplishing goals I set for myself gives me a lot of happiness. Whether your goal is to run a marathon or be a contestant on the “Price is Right,” (I’ve done both) there is no greater feeling than accomplishment.
In conclusion, go accomplish something and stop worrying about things that seem insurmountable, like a long, steep hill in the middle of a 20 mile run. Just run straight up it!
Tags: accomplishing goals, cure, depression, Runner's High