Depression is telling you to move. But what if it feels like you can’t? 4th of 5 in the Coping Skills for Depression Series from a Madison, WI Depression Counselor

Hi! I’m Bronwyn, a depression therapist based in Madison, WI. Recently in the coping skills for depression series, I’ve talked about what depression feels like, and using “gazing” or comfort as a way to move toward fun in the face of depression. Today is the fourth in the series, and I’ll be discussing the importance of movement as a way to cope with depression. I’ll cover some traditional recommendations and offer tips on how to move when you don’t feel like doing anything. 

Movement and depression: not mutually exclusive

When you’re depressed, a common experience is feeling stuck.

This is why moving - in some way, physically or psychologically - is so important. It’s one of the reasons that doctors tell you to exercise regularly. And, movement of any kind is one of the hardest things to do when you’re feeling depressed. So what do you do when exercise sometimes makes you feel worse? Or when even walking around the block feels like too much effort?

I’m not here to tell you whether or how to exercise. It’s true that research shows that walking three times a week can help moderate depression as much as medication. (The Mayo Clinic states, “Doing 30 minutes or more of exercise a day for three to five days a week may significantly improve depression or anxiety symptoms.”) But there are many right answers, including how to move through your depression.

Does “movement” have to be aerobic exercise?

Rudolph Ballantine, MD and former President of the Himalayan Institute, in his book “Radical Healing,” notes that both physical and psychological movement are needed in order to move through depression. Dr. Ballantine does include aerobic exercise in this prescription. However, in order to get to that point, you can broaden your definition of movement in order to build up to being able to exercise.

Some research has been done on the ways that “meditative movements” influences depression. Although more research is needed, the research that has been done suggests that meditative movement can also decrease the severity of depression.

Whenever you do have the urge to exercise, go for it! If you feel up to your regular exercise routine - keep doing it! And, in my experience, movement through depression includes much more than aerobic exercise. So don’t let your lack of motivation to go for a walk make you feel even worse about yourself. If you think of exercise as just one form of movement, lots of possibilities open for ways to cope with depression.

Try thinking of movement as something that is meditative or contemplative, rather than something to create endorphins.

When you do this, things like stretching, moving to music, yoga, walking a labyrinth, and tai chi are included in your options. If things like yoga, Tai Chi, or walking a labyrinth are already part of your routine, well done! It takes a lot to practice something like that regularly, and can also be a great long term coping strategy for anxiety. 

If a goal of aerobic exercise three times a week leaves you feeling like a failure, try changing your intention to simply notice and increase both physical and psychological movement. (They are connected!) During your regular practice of yoga or something similar, simply notice the multitude of movements that you are making. During a sun salutation, take note of the many connected movements that you are doing. Pressing your hands together, lifting your arms to the sky, extending one leg behind you. Even if you are staying on the same yoga mat, there is a lot of movement happening! Reminding yourself of this fact can help loosen the feeling of stuckness that feels so familiar. 

What if you don’t practice yoga or tai chi? What if there is no labyrinth available to you for contemplative walking? Perhaps you used to do a yoga routine but lately have been so lacking in energy and motivation, it has become another thing you feel bad about not doing. 

In these situations, you can break movement down into even smaller parts. You can also create your own, more protected, spaces for movement. Being in a class or group might feel like too many people are watching or scrutinizing your abilities. If that is the case, you can think about stretching, small movement breaks, breathing, and solo dancing as ways to move. 

How to move when it feels like you can’t

1. Stretching as movement

Stretching may not be exercise, but it is movement. As you bend forward in a stretch, notice all the muscles that become engaged. There are lots of areas where you will feel the stretch.

Notice that your body is moving, as you move into the stretch.

Pay attention to the ways that you can move deeper into the stretch. You can also combine this with noticing your breathing as movement. As you breathe into the stretch to deepen it, notice your belly and your ribcage, and the ways that your breath affects your muscles.

2. Take mini movement and stretch breaks throughout the day

If you are seated most of the day, you have a number of options. You could pretend you’re watching one of those airline videos. Flex your toes, roll your shoulders, gently move your head forward and back, side to side. Reach your fingers to the sky. Even more moving would be getting up to get a drink of water, or look out a window. If you do get up to stand, you can do the same small movements of rolling your shoulders and reaching your arms over your head. Play around with what muscles need attention. Voilà! You’ve added in some mental health breaks to your day.

3. Breathing as movement

Fun fact: you are moving all the time, simply by breathing.

You can use your focus on breathing to help encourage you in the direction of greater movement.

Start by noticing your belly. It rises and falls with every breath. You can put your hand on your lower belly to more fully take in this movement. Breathing into your rib cage is another way to make breathing more visible, and more actively mobile. As I learned from physical therapist and rolfer Kevin McCoy, your ribcage extends all the way around your chest, and you can breathe in to expand all of that. Usually we focus on filling up the front part of our rib cages. Try expanding the sides of your ribcage, and then the back of your ribcage. What do you notice in your body after breathing in this way?

4. Moving to music

Especially if you’re an HSP, you can use music to your advantage. It doesn’t have to be joltingly happy, but probably you don’t want super sad either. Something soothing like the composer Deuter can also prompt your body to move. You might call it dancing, or swaying, or simply responding to the music.

What does your body want to do?

Depression is telling you to move. And you actually are.

Don’t focus on the ways you can’t move. In time, you will get to a place where exercise feels rejuvenating again. For now, focus on the ways that you are moving. How many stretches? Breaths? Neck rolls? Dance leaps? Reminding yourself of the ways that you are already moving will build on itself. Eventually you will get back to your exercise and yoga routines. For now, simply play with the many ways you can move.

About the Author

I’m a depression therapist for women living in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.

Trained psychodynamically, I use attachment theory to guide the online therapy I provide. In addition to depression therapy, I also offer anxiety counseling and therapy for HSPs. I’m based in Madison, but I also work with women and HSPs via telehealth therapy in Massachusetts.

Interested in making more space for movement?