Conquering Depression and Anxiety Through Exercise - Softcover

Keith Johnsgard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591021928 ISBN 13: 9781591021926

Publisher: Prometheus, 2004

Synopsis

One out of every two Americans will suffer from some mental disorder during their lifetimes, with depression being the most common problem. How do most of us cope? Usually, we turn to overeating, drinking, and smoking. In short, we treat our unhealthy mental reactions to the American lifestyle with even unhealthier physical habits.Clinical psychologist Keith Johnsgard ― an inveterate runner who is in his 70's! ― proposes a better solution in this uplifting book. Why not turn to exercise ― one of the healthiest aspects of American lifestyle ― as a means of improving not just our physical well-being but our state of mind as well? Though usually associated with losing weight and physical fitness, exercise does in fact offer many mental health benefits. Johnsgard inspires us to put on a pair of sneakers and start moving. He draws from a lifetime of clinical experience, research on the psyche of the athlete, and personal experience as an athlete to make a convincing case that exercise can greatly enhance our mental outlook. Further, physical activity decreases the symptoms of depression as well as psychotherapy and drugs, and with only positive side effects! Exercise not only reduces depression and anxiety, but also boosts your energy level and self-esteem.If depression and anxiety have overshadowed your life, or you just want to improve your mental outlook while enhancing your physical fitness, this book is a superb motivator to help you help yourself through the healthiest, least expensive, and simplest method available.

About this title

About the Author

Keith Johnsgard, Ph.D. (Los Gatos, CA), is emeritus professor of psychology at San Jose State University and the author of the The Exercise Prescription for Depression and Anxiety. He has been a contributor to Runner’s World and an expert commentator, who has appeared on the CBS Winter Olympics (1994), Dateline NBC, the Lifetime Channel, the Learning Channel, A & E, and the BBC.

From Publishers Weekly

It is generally accepted in the mental-health community that exercise can be an antidote to depression. Nor is it much in dispute that exercise is beneficial to one’s overall health. So it’s rather odd that Johnsgard, professor emeritus of psychology at San Jose State University, insists on declaring that the connection between good mood and exercise is new. Nonetheless, his volume is a useful consideration of the evidence; it presents experimental studies and case studies that trace the role of exercise in elevating mood, as well as studies comparing the effect of exercise with other forms of treatment, such as talk therapy and medication. Getting into more specific questions, he cites evidence that aerobic and anaerobic exercise are equally effective, even for the most severely depressed. In terms of the relative efficacy of exercise and Zoloft, he offers only one study (and of only this one drug) as evidence that exercise has longer-lasting effects in elevating mood than the drug. While Johnsgard is a proselytizer, he’s not dogmatic—he acknowledges that exercise alone is not always enough to deal with depression or anxiety, that it should be used in conjunction with psychotherapy, and that in some cases it just isn’t effective. The author examines how to motivate oneself to exercise, how to exercise well, and how to deal with the possible risks of exercise. Covering all the relevant issues makes this a very useful handbook for anyone suffering from depression or anxiety.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1591021928
• ISBN 13: 9781591021926
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 305