How many of you run as a way to limit mental illness?

Maybe the reason you're depressed in the first place is that you rely on running for fulfillment.

Liberal Liberal Liberal Libera wrote:

Maybe the reason you're depressed in the first place is that you rely on running for fulfillment.

Why would anyone do something if it did NOT bring them some satisfaction. And fulfillment. Good luck with that. The delusional maybe are fulfilled. Most who are happy are simply appreciative.

Sair wrote:

Think about the runners you know, particularly on the 'serious' end. They're intense, personality-wise. And they were always going to be intense. (My opinion, of course).

Yea, Andrew Wheating seems super intense.

Jane Fonda running a 28 minute 5k and taking a selfie as she crosses the line definitely has that over-achieving type-A personality.

The most generalized opinion goes to... Sair!!!

If you're talking about people who still train competitively btwn the ages of 25 and 45, who have full time jobs, a family, and a 100 other responsibilities, than yea these people have their sh*t together and are probably type-A personalities. However, there are a ton of other "runners" out there that most definitely are not intense. Quite the opposite.

When I was young I sometimes had debilitating anxiety. That mostly went away after I started running. I still have moments but a run always helps. Like taking aspirin for a headache.

Yep, definitely.

I can't run mileages that are of any use to me anymore. Too many slow healing injuries that recur easily but I now cycle to get the same relief.

They give me pretty much the same relief from anxiety and tension. Running has the plus that it's easier to completely turn off your brain without a risk of a 20mph crash and cycling has the advantage that because you go further in the same time you can vary your routes a lot more and you can do it a whole lot more than running without breaking down.

I am bipolar, have social and panic anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and addictive personality. I also suffer from sleep terrors.

I'm a catch.

Running literally balances my life. The more I run the more relaxed I am in day to day life. I live a normal life but when I get up over 40-45 mpw I feel normal.

I didn't start running until my late 20s so there is no corellation in my case to running disrupting my mental stability. I will add I hated running for gym and practice in high school when I had my most severe issues.

Sair wrote:

Or it could be a correlation. Many people with depression and anxiety (including me) are recommended to take regular exercise, preferably outdoors - it's just generally sound advice. Hence lots of people with these underlying issues become runners.

My anecdotal, but large, experience set would also indicate a correlation between running and over-achieving A-type personalities (people who put a lot of pressure on themselves and are prone to anxiety/depression). I strongly think it's more likely that running appeals to this kind of person than that running *creates* that kind of person.

Think about the runners you know, particularly on the 'serious' end. They're intense, personality-wise. And they were always going to be intense. (My opinion, of course).

There is probably something to this. I took running very seriously, but that's because that's the type of person I am. If I decide I want to do something, I go all in. I'm a high-achiever and have succeeded in multiple areas... the more laid back runners I knew never seemed to reach their potential even if they were much more talented than me. You have to be intense to go out and work your arse off multiple times per week for years and years. So much of running requires dedication outside of actual running too.

Oh, definitely during my teenage and college years. I would not say that I have mental illness, but it was an outlet for the angst and periods of depressions that I experienced during those years. I often wonder how I would have turned if I did not use running as a release, but that is futile.

These days, I still need physical activity, but not in the intensity that I did then.

yep right here

bump

Mr E wrote:

I've never been diagnosed, but I have trouble with anxiety in certain parts of my life. Running has definitely helped me deal with it.

When I'm anxious, I usually don't want to run, but it always makes me feel better. I think it might be because anxiety is the result of a sympathetic nervous system (adrenal) response to an inappropriate stimulus. Too much adrenaline is really shitty if you're trying to think, but it is great if you're going out for a run. Exercise must clear the adrenaline out of the system, because I feel much better when I return.

This. For the love of God. This. In fact, this is exactly what this article in Esquire that I read said.

I absolutely believe that running saved me from becoming a really f'd up person. I was diagnosed as bipolar when I was in highschool. I didn't believe the diagnosis and refused meds. I went out for track about a month later and it pretty much changed my life. Now out of college, I still use running and frequent exercise as an "outlet" and to keep me "normal." I think I still have minor manic phases with periods of depression, but the swings are far less dramatic and I'm able to keep it together in regular life.

I also probably have a very type-A personality, but only when it comes to things that I care about. In other words, once I latch on to something I'm compulsive about it to the point where it consumes me. This was very effective for training and still is. It has helped me tremendously in the working world, but only because I am at a job and in a career field that interests me.

In college (and highschool) my grades showed massive fluctuations in which subjects I cared about vs. those that I didn't (like A's vs. D's). Overall I'm pretty happy with the person I've become most of the time, but I'm in constant need of finding difficult goals to reach, otherwise I spiral into deep depression and heavy drinking.

I will say that I had my best races in college on the manic upswings. I would basically have 4days-2weeks of absolute awesomeness, in training and just in life in general, followed by 2-4weeks of feeling down and lethargic. Hard to control, but made for some awesome races and great memories.

it is real wrote:

Just curious. I find that the edge is taken off my depression quite substantially after a 30 min tempo @ 6:00.

Running is great for the mind no doubt!

Don't know if it was mental illness, but running certainly saved my soul in high school.

I was bored, restless, unable to sit still, wanted to do cause trouble just to see what would happen.

I was able to get my ___ together after I started running 30-40 miles a week.

I struggle with homosexual thought, which I attribute to a series of traumatic experiences in my childhood. When I run high mileage, these thoughts are less frequent and less intense.

I've had serious depression problems my entire life. It runs in the family and was reinforced by some traumatic experiences. Running saved my life. It offered diversion from those experiences while giving me an outlet to physically cope with them. It gave me self-esteem, a community, and, eventually, the gaul to make a different life for myself. So, yes.

running helps wrote:

I struggle with homosexual thought, which I attribute to a series of traumatic experiences in my childhood. When I run high mileage, these thoughts are less frequent and less intense.

You are mentally ill. But not in the way that you think you are.

To the OP, there are two kinds of letsrunners: those whose mental illness improves with running, and those whose mental illness is impervious to running.

Despite some of the obnoxious clueless offerings by some Letsdummers here I can say it isn't just running but any regular exercise such as walking that gives mental health benefits. I once got laid off and found a new job not too long after. To save money I began walking the 5 1/2 miles each way to and from the office instead of taking the subway. The positive change in my mood was quite noticeable. I have no doubt it was the activation of adrenalin, pheromones, etc... as a friend of mine says, it kick starts your "happy cells". Physically I know I have chemically treatable depression- I respond well to prozac and other anti-depressants.

So running, walking, etc... it's all good.