Can overtraining cause depression?

Naked women rule!

take a few weeks off, chase women, drink beer, eat pizza.

you will be better for it in the long run.

An "I don't care" attitude, in an otherwise well motivated athlete, is a *classic* sign of depleted reserves, as are the lowered libido and disrupted sleep pattern.

The fact is that you probably have NOT completely "recovererd from the physical damage." Staleness is a symptom of *physical* depletion.

My standard line is "give it a chance to get better." I'm not sure how you'd do that (short of quitting the team--not much of a solution there!), but I'd urge you to talk with your coach privately. Just lay out your concerns.

As a short-term palliative, I would say *never* to make more than a 90% effort, even in your toughest practices; and to take the easy days, as wejo found out, EASY.

Check your pulse for a minute every morning, before you get out of bed. If you're actually "recovering from the physical damage," it should gradually edge down.

To answer your question: yes, depletion of your reserves (whether through overtraining or otherwise) can include depression, along with other symptoms.

Not sure how they interact, but the symptoms of over training and depression are pretty much identical.

There are some people (like myself) that get crippling depression if they DON'T train at high volumes. Maybe backing off has been bad for you?

Depression and all of this stuff is pretty complicated, and most treatments don't work for each individual--you just need to keep trying stuff until you find what works for you.

It's worth getting checked out for the spectrum of physical problems that can cause similar symptoms--thyroid problems, a latent std, etc. If they can't find anything maybe a doctor of Internal medicine (that's a MD who specializes in finding out what's wrong with people in puzzling situations).

But you should really make sure you check in with some therapists--your school probably has some you can see for free.

When you overtrain, your body is chronically tired

When your body is chronically tired, you don't perform your best.

When you don't perform your best, you don't meet expectations.

When you don't meet expectations, you get frustrated

When you get frustrated, you quit the team.

When you quit the team, you go to the bar.

When you go to the bar, you meet Charlie Sheen.

When you meet Charlie Sheen, you reenact scenes from Platoon.

Don't reenact scenes from Platoon, don't overtrain.

I would take some time away from running, no less than two weeks, but probably not more than 6. If you need more than 6 weeks away from running you probably should just call it quits. I totally hear you on the depression etc symptoms though. Those are indeed often caused by overtraining. For me personally, I NEED a break from workouts for my mental health even if my body is still physically well. Coaches who fail to periodize their training are idiots because of the poor fitness that results and the mental strain it puts on athletes. If I were you, I wouldn't do any workouts this summer and just run. Go find somewhere cool to run and just relax.

In addition, you are almost certainly low in magnesium (unless you already supplement) because 1) almost all athletes who don't supplement are, and 2) stress can drastically lower Mg levels. If I were you, I would go buy a Mg and Zn supplement and start taking it right before you go to bed. People may scoff at this sort of thing, but there is plenty of science and especially anecdotes to testify to its effectiveness.

Do those things. If they don't help, come back and ask again.

Thanks, I will try to start supplementing with zinc/magnesium ASAP. I also just finished my season on Friday so I'll take the next 10 or so days off and see if that will help. Thanks for the input, and I did get a kick out of the Charlie Sheen post...

From my own experience, its usually depression that causes overtraining. You don't need to beat yourself if you're happy.

lease wrote:

As a short-term palliative, I would say *never* to make more than a 90% effort, even in your toughest practices...

Okay, didn't mean to be misleading: I meant no *practices* at more than a 90% effort. Of course races should be all-out.

Anyway, I'm glad your season has ended and you've got a chance to rest up and get calm and healthy. Good luck.

Over training symptoms comes from overwork or like listening to a record or song over and over again until it feels awful to listen to. In this case it could be resolved by generating a new challenge (or song) in order for your spirit to fly, to return. Mindless training will lead to flat tops as a result of the brains desire for homeostasis. Changing the plan and method, find something that is challenging, but in a different way, or just do the lazy thing for a while to get your self charged up. Good luck :)

Overtraining is bad for you wrote:

When you overtrain, your body is chronically tired

When your body is chronically tired, you don't perform your best.

When you don't perform your best, you don't meet expectations.

When you don't meet expectations, you get frustrated

When you get frustrated, you quit the team.

When you quit the team, you go to the bar.

When you go to the bar, you meet Charlie Sheen.

When you meet Charlie Sheen, you reenact scenes from Platoon.

Don't reenact scenes from Platoon, don't overtrain.

I know it is a serious thread but this was f'ing awesome.

Yes, overtraining can cause depression.

Run some Clomid--

"A relatively modest dose of clomid – full name clomiphene citrate – quadrupled the amount of testosterone in the body of an endurance athlete, who had wrecked his hormone system by over training. Endocrinologists at the University of New Mexico described what happened in a case study published twelve years ago in Fertility & Sterility."

If that doesn't work, go the Salazar route and get a prescription for an Anti-depressant. He used Prozac, but I'd recommend the SSNI Pristiq.

Or you could just bag your training and party.