What was it like running when depressed?

similar people say running good for mental health but i found it just another stress inducing factor worrying about my times and id stop seemingly for no reason as wasn't tired.

I'm pretty depressed and I find running to be a great escape from dark / negative thoughts

I get a great endorphin rush and boost of self confidence after completing a big workout.. or tackling a heavy mileage week

It used to be my escape from depression, now I feel so exhausted from lack of sleep my running is suffering and running isn't alleviating any of my depression symptoms like it used to. Perhaps running contributes to my depression because I try to run huge mileage these days and really hammer my workouts. leading to a chronic lack of energy some weeks and no improvement in sleep. I still love running but I have come to realize it isn't a cure all for my mental health and I am looking for other solutions.

PRDreamer wrote:

It used to be my escape from depression, now I feel so exhausted from lack of sleep my running is suffering and running isn't alleviating any of my depression symptoms like it used to. Perhaps running contributes to my depression because I try to run huge mileage these days and really hammer my workouts. leading to a chronic lack of energy some weeks and no improvement in sleep. I still love running but I have come to realize it isn't a cure all for my mental health and I am looking for other solutions.

Yeah, there are days when a nice run can seemingly solve all of my problems, but I also get some pretty severe (and completely random) depression during heavy training blocks. It wouldn't shock me if the training-related depression is linked to carbohydrate depletion and/or inflammatory responses. Anyway, running is certainly a great tool, but I agree with you that it is sometimes a double-edged sword and can be limited in how much it helps.

Imagine trying to do your long runs, and you've been planning to get a 10-miler done on Saturday.

When you're feeling down, you don't have that eagerness anymore. And even when you do go out planning on doing that 10 mile long run, you half ass it.

For me, I set out to do 12-14 mile runs, but instead I run 6 miles and every half mile I take a walking break. Then I get frustrated and then sprint for like 150 meters randomly. When I go back home, I take a shower and drink some rum feeling unsatisfied.

Next I have feet cramps and ITB is acting up.

When will this shiht end?!

GAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Not sure if I was clinically depressed, but running helped me tremendously while dealing with my father's impending death due to stage 4 lymphoma 5 years ago. Something about the fight or flight reaction from hard running allowed me to weed through the other bullsh!t that was piling up around me during that time--crazy girlfriend, sub-par income due to sub-par job, mom recovering from alcoholism, normal work stress, my own drinking issues, etc.

During that time I realized running allows me the mental space to sort through life's various hub caps and turned ankles. Now, if I'm happy I go for a run and the same if I'm unhappy. Running can be a celebration and a salve for me as needed and helps keep me motivated and focused.

yes!! i would do the weird stopping thing too. i feel like my mind is blown

yeah. running a big pr out of nowhere is like... a rush of an unfamiliar feeling

doing a workout or race i never thought I could do helped for sure. it was like "hey! you're not all the mean things you say about yourself! go show them what you can do!" :D

that reminds me a lot of the erin finn video! not sure if i can find it but she said the same thing of not letting running be a cure all

oh goodness i feel you. like you plan it all week, then as it gets closer you get nervous. if it's later in the day, you waste the day feeling more anxious. you go out there, stop randomly, come back home really depressed because you couldn't do it.

it sucks. :( but overcoming that mental barrier is so so so hard, but so rewarding.... keep going my dude

For the most part it was my escape. I was really not very good at dealing with my depression with anything other than running until I started therapy. I would just go out and run angry and try and make myself feel better. It had helped me through the death of my dad/grandparents and so I trusted it to get me through that tough time as well.

Ironically when I was at my worst, I had suicide ideations while driving and while running. I would imagine myself driving or running into traffic. But running was the only thing that made me feel like a normal human, if only for a little while, so my therapist suggested I run on trails/closed loops or run with other people for a while and see if that helped - luckily it did.

I've come close, but never run faster than I did when I was the most depressed, I ran a PR for 5 miles and have not yet beat that time or equivalent time at another distance. Reading the above posts I feel pretty lucky that my running didn't take a hit while I was depressed. I was at a point in my life where I felt like such a complete failure at everything else I did, at least I was still decent at running. If I hadn't had that I would have been really SOL.

Recently I went through a stressful time (I would not say I was fully depressed) and was also injured and couldn't run. I'm very proud of myself, and feel very fortunate, for being able to get through that without sliding back into depression while also not having running as an outlet. It took a lot of time and effort to figure out how to take care of myself, with or without running.

i run from my problems

anotherperspective wrote:

Yeah, there are days when a nice run can seemingly solve all of my problems, but I also get some pretty severe (and completely random) depression during heavy training blocks. It wouldn't shock me if the training-related depression is linked to carbohydrate depletion and/or inflammatory responses. Anyway, running is certainly a great tool, but I agree with you that it is sometimes a double-edged sword and can be limited in how much it helps.

What kind of inflammatory responses are you referring to? I have noticed some unpleasant side effects below the waist that I might contribute to inflammation for lack of any other apparent reasons? On the flip side running 70-90 mile weeks is one of the few things I truly love even if it doesn't necessarily always feel good for me mentally and physically.

Running really is about 50 percent good, 50 percent bad. Sometimes it's an escape; other times I get caught up in my own head, stressing about my day-to-day life. It's also dangerous if you're relying on it for happiness or self-worth. One injury and everything you worked for is done. It's a terrible feeling, and a dangerous one if you're already struggling. Some people take medication, but medication destroyed me as a runner. Imagine running through mud. That's it.

All that said, those days when you're just cruising along your favorite route, a beautiful river flowing alongside you, remind you why you love it.

Explore. Even easy runs are exciting when running someplace new. Drive an hour from your house for a run if you have to. Tell your coach you want the saturday long run to be someplace new.

Continue running even when feeling depressed, try not to think about lap times and distance covered. Just try and enjoy it and allow your body to release endorphins.

Borderline Alcoholic wrote:

but medication destroyed me as a runner. Imagine running through mud. That's it.

This! Whenever I take medication my paces become at least a min mile slower and my endurance as a whole is shot. I am currently on medications and I can barely manage more than a four mile run. So frustrating.

lol you guys call that depression? with truly severe depression you won't run at all. you'll think about it and go "eh why bother. i suck, i'll never be the best, this is a waste of time, and we're all going to die anyway."

I believe that Erin Finn had an important message about this issue:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=8631708