Doesn't ketamine stimulate growth in the same areas of the brain that exercise does, and does therapy prescribe routine daily exercise?
I can imagine there being a great short term benefit to ketamine, as people who are severely depressed can't exercise due to the depression. Has there been any mention switching from ketamine to daily exercise, or doing both?
How is it patronising? GP is asking two questions. Maybe there's some subtle subtext that I'm missing, but even then it seems better to assume the more favorable interpretation that he's just asking questions.
Sorry. That wasn't the intent. I could have been clearer.
More, I don't know what ketamine does in the long term to the brain beyond stimulating the parts of the brain that get strengthened during exercise. Maybe it's doing something else and that was the motive for the curiosity. What exactly is ketamine doing in the long run to the brain?
The difference is that ketamine shows positive results in clinical trials (even for severe depression) while exercise doesn't, unless you include poor quality trials and you limit results to mild depression.
Exercise is moderately more effective than no therapy for reducing symptoms of depression.
Exercise is no more effective than antidepressants for reducing symptoms of depression, although this conclusion is based on a small number of studies.
Exercise is no more effective than psychological therapies for reducing symptoms of depression, although this conclusion is based on small number of studies.
The reviewers also note that when only high-quality studies were included, the difference between exercise and no therapy is less conclusive.
Attendance rates for exercise treatments ranged from 50% to 100%.
The evidence about whether exercise for depression improves quality of life is inconclusive.
How often did you have depression? Especially major depressive episodes where you have trouble to even motivate yourself to move out of the bed or do ANYTHING but just "exist" and even that seems hard?
If the answer is zero (which I think it is) do those who have it a favor and shut up. Depression is hard enough without "you just have to exercise, huahua" comments.
I over came decades of suicidal depression (as well as schizophrenia and bipolar) with a self concocted protocol which included psychedelics and now don't take traditional meds.
I read the OPs intention as "use K to get the person back from the bottom of depression and then leverage that boost in mood to start a habit of excersize"
That seems reasonable and a good approach. You want to reinvest the motivation and better mood into relationships and behaviors that will continue to compound feeling good.
I'd also recommend Gratitude as a practice and ultimately some sort of somatic work where you are encouraged to go deeply into any uncomfortable feelings with your full body.
Can you explain your protocol? That's pretty promising. I've had some good results to date but not sure how to use them in a more disciplined way to create permanent results
> If the answer is zero (which I think it is) do those who have it a favor and shut up
I get where you're coming from with this response - if you haven't been there, there is just no way you can understand how desperately bleak things can become.
But if someone is ignorant about mental health, why not try to educate that tell them to "shut up"?
We need to talk about these things, not humiliate and shut down anyone who doesn't understand.
I'll always remember a quote from a cancer researcher/professor on tv: "You don't have to be an elephant to talk about elephants." Sadly I don't have an elephant's brain so I don't remember the professor's name.
A lot of depressed people who have been able to pull themselves out of the hole can be pretty touchy about stuff like being told to exercise. OP was maybe a bit more aggressive than he needed to be, but it can be a pretty raw feeling, and mental illness has such a stigma.
When studies seem to suggest exercise helps, its pretty dangerous to shout down comments like this. Especially when you're completely misrepresenting the question.
I can imagine there being a great short term benefit to ketamine, as people who are severely depressed can't exercise due to the depression. Has there been any mention switching from ketamine to daily exercise, or doing both?