If you tell your doctor you’re feeling depressed, chances are you’ll walk out of the appointment with a prescription for an antidepressant.
Doctors hand out these drugs like candy. Antidepressant use has skyrocketed more than 400% since the late 1980s. It’s to the point where 11% of American adults are now on one of these medications.1
Depression is nothing to take lightly. But neither is going on an antidepressant. They can have serious side effects. The common ones include sexual dysfunction, anxiety, weight gain, and fatigue.2 Even worse, they can lead to suicide among young people and birth defects in the babies of mothers who take the medications.3
Now, a new study shows there’s a better way to fight depression.
No-Pill Combo Therapy Boosts Mood
Rutgers University scientists had patients exercise and meditate for two months. The regimen was not difficult or time-consuming. They would meditate for 30 minutes and walk for 10 minutes. Then they would exercise on a treadmill or stationary bike for 30 minutes. Subjects did this just twice a week.
The results were astounding. Patients saw a 40% reduction in symptoms.4 That’s much better than most people do on an antidepressant drug. In fact, one major study showed these medications are no more effective than a placebo.5
It’s long been known that exercise and meditation ease depression. But this is the first time they’ve been tested in combination.
Dr. Brandon Alderman
Assistant Professor, Rutgers University
Department of Exercise Science and Sports Studies
“I was quite surprised that we saw such a robust effect after only eight weeks,” Dr. Brandon Alderman said. He was the lead author of the Rutgers study.
8 Weeks to Depression Relief
The program used in the study was simple:
- First, subjects meditated for 20 minutes. They did a form of meditation called focused attention. It’s one of the easier types of meditation. It involves sitting still while thinking about your breathing. First you count your breaths up to 10 and then backward from 10. If your mind wanders, don’t worry about it. Start over counting from one.
- Then do 10 minutes of walking meditation. Focus intently on each step.
- Finally, run on a treadmill or use a stationary bike for 30 minutes. Maintain a moderate pace.
Do this twice a week.
The depression sufferers in the study reported they were much less likely to obsess over bad memories. They found effective relief—without taking a risky drug.
Antidepressants are far from the only pharmaceuticals that have scary side effects… If you’re worried about the drugs you or a loved one are taking, you need to read our special report, The Top 10 Dangerous Pharmaceutical Drugs—And Their Natural Alternatives.
There’s a good chance someone you love is endangering his or her life. And they may have no clue.
Get all the details HERE.
In Good Health,
Angela Salerno
Publisher, INH Health Watch
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References:
1http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db76.htm
2http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/coping-with-side-effects-of-depression-treatment
3https://www.drugwatch.com/ssri/
4http://news.rutgers.edu/research-news/exercise-and-meditation-%E2%80%93-together-%E2%80%93-help-beat-depression-rutgers-study-finds/20160209#.VurHPlUrJhE
5https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/obsessively-yours/201001/five-reasons-not-take-ssris