I’m always interested to hear about non-pharmacological treatments for depression (especially as antidepressants are no more effective than placebo for all but the most severely depressed). Here’s a study on depression in the elderly. The researchers compared those who were prescribed antidepressants plus a Tai chi class, to those who received the drugs plus weekly health education classes.
Researchers at UCLA turned to a gentle, Westernized version of tai chi chih, a 2,000-year-old Chinese martial art. When they combined a weekly tai chi exercise class with a standard depression treatment for a group of depressed elderly adults, they found greater improvement in the level of depression — along with improved quality of life, better memory and cognition, and more overall energy — than among a different group in which the standard treatment was paired with a weekly health education class.
It would be interesting to compare the Tai chi class to the antidepressants……
Heroes Not Zombies 
My advice is that the best way to stave off depression, providing it’s not a major problem with a lack of the right neurotransmitters passing between the right synapses is to exercise every day, walking for at least 20 minutes briskly or swimming and not drinking alcohol. Then a good diet on top of that is essential. For example, the Dukan Diet.
Make sure you get outside somewhere nice for your walk if you can, to have a change of scene and meditation is also very helpful. It can help clear your mind and help you to learn how to relax and not overthink. That’s been my experience, and every bit of this advice has contributed to improving my health and overall state of happiness. Good luck and best wishes.
Yes Bob it would be interesting but in my anecodtal experience referees i.e medical staff need to express an interest in the approach.
To be honest most don’t.
I have offered non pharmacological approaches based on this area –mindful breathing exercises , movement based on simple tai chi exercises , simple explanations on health related topics . Dr’s have not referred into it or been interested enough to come and see what their patients are up to (this is literally 45 seconds away from the practice).
Ed Haliwell ( a writer on mindfulness etc ) produced a document on exercise and depression which is interesting.
Click to access upandrunningreport_pdf.pdf
The physiology is easy to explain in a way but gaining meaning through movement , group or individual preferences using nature etc are perhaps more difficult?
What a shame that the actual cause of depression is never considered worth looking at, though!
I expect this would vary with every individual and situation.
Nikki , I totally agree with you ! The label sounds ‘scientific’ and people need to be slotted into various forms of treatments-whether pharmacology or not . However , I gained a great deal from the 2nd half of Christopher Dowricks book Beyond Depression http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7512/357.1.extract
Beyond depression evaluates the whole area medical concept of depression and finds it lacking . Dowrick ,a Professor of General Practice is a deeply humanistic thinker and writes in first person terms . His own patient narratives come to life. Meaning or lack of it is often at the root of the problem. Dowrick compassionately replaces the homogenous term of ‘depression’ with individual stories of ‘something bad has happened’ . This approach requires compassion and evaluation of individual difficulty.
A ladys post stroke ‘depression’ I saw yesterday was an interconnected story of loss of independence and identity. Although pharmacology may help , practical things such as gaining more physical independence ,being able to drive again and resolving more complex relationship dynamics could help more.
Perhaps at the root of some of the difficulties when discussing health and diagnostic labels in general (particularly in mental health chronic disease) is the general acceptance of Boorse’s biolgogical concept of health http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2239248/
There is a tendency to think of everything biologically without recourse to philosophy. Perhaps many researchers would benefit from considering people as individuals and read Havi Carel’s account?
https://heroesnotzombies.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/illness-by-havi-carel/
However, saying this I still think there is a lack of interest and value placed on movement in restoring not only physiological function but a sense of self efficacy too.
ian
Depression can be minimized through regular exercise and most of all, having a good support system like friends and family.;
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