It is normal to react to loss, struggles of life, and bruised self-esteem by becoming sad and depressed sometimes. However, when these feelings become overwhelming and last for an extended period of time, living a normal and active life can be very difficult. If left untreated, depression can only get worse, cause a lot of pain, and consequently lead to suicide.

One of the main ways of treating depression is by meditating while running. Meditation has a way of training the brain to achieve sustained focus, and to keep returning to this focus when negative thoughts, emotions or sensations try to intrude. Research has shown that running, though hard to engage in when depressed, can help to improve mood and reduce anxiety. Considering the fact that meditation and running individually help in treating depression, the impact might just be intensified when combined.

What is Depression?

Depression can be seen as a mood disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, anger, or loss, which can interfere with the day-to-day activities of an individual. It is very common and many people experience it in different ways. If left untreated, depression can result in weight gain or loss, physical pain, panic attacks, social isolation, self-mutilation, suicidal thoughts, substance use problems, and relationship problems.

Being depressed can be a really difficult way to live, but with the right treatment, you can get to improve the quality of your life. It has been shown medically that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) becomes hyperactive when a person is depressed. This mPFC processes information about yourself. The Amygdala is another brain region that triggers the adrenal glands to release the stress hormone cortisol in response to fear. These two brain regions work together to cause depression.

Meditation as an Anti-depression Treatment

Meditation is a kind of mental training that teaches you to easily detect negative thoughts, feelings and depressive relapses, and respond to them in a way that makes you more resilient. Stress and anxiety are the main triggers of depression and your reaction to these feelings can be altered through meditation.

The function of meditation is to break the connection between the mPFC and the Amygdala. The hippocampus is a brain area involved in memory, and meditation helps to protect this area by increasing the volume of gray matter in it. By meditating, you will learn to prepare your brain for stressful conditions.

Although practicing to focus your attention on yourself and your immediate environment is not easy at first, it is very beneficial. Studies have shown a high percentage of reduction in symptoms of depression after engaging in meditation. If done consistently, people with depression usually show increased brain cell activity in the prefrontal cortex that looks like that of people without depression.

Running as an Anti-depression Treatment

Depression is a common disorder with negative effects on the wellbeing and day-to-day personal and professional functioning on the depressed person. Physical activity, of which running is one of the most beneficial, is a relatively cheap treatment with no harm or side effects associated with the medication.

Usually, there is a need for an add-on strategy when treating depression, and exercise comes in very handy. Running is very beneficial to depressed patients who have pain complaints or are at risk of cardiac morbidity. When a patient participates in this physical exercise and adapts to it, social integrated is promoted and self-esteem is increased. Different internet pages such as Jogging addiction offer many resources for educating yourself about running and, eventually, falling in love with it and using it as a medicine.

Meditation and Running as an Anti-depression Treatment

When done consecutively, research has shown that meditation and running can help reduce depression and other mood disorders. The combination of both mental and physical training are drug-free alternatives to anti-depression treatments.

Apart from reducing the symptoms of depression, the combination of meditation and running also helps to enhance synchronized brain activity. It is nice to know that using meditation and running as anti-depression treatment is free, and can be done by any age group at any time and place.

You do not have to allow negative thoughts or problems overwhelm you when you can get up and run meditatively. After each meditative run, research shows that people suffering from depression felt more motivated and displayed a striking improvement in depressive symptoms. More so, when practiced for an extended period or even a lifetime, mental and cognitive health will be greatly improved.

Treatment of depression usually includes prescription of antidepressants. Running can be quite stressful, but with meditation, it gets more tolerable since you have to focus on your breathing and your body. Concentrating on yourself while running, not just reduces exertion but also improves your mood. While running increases the number of new brain cells you have, meditation helps to keep those neurons alive and functioning. When practiced together, meditation and running is a no-cost and universal treatment for depression.