Written by: Jennifer Schmidt, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Exercise is being recommended by many physicians to help with depression. But what if you're working out regularly and still feeling depressed?
Exercise is an incredible coping strategy to support mood, as it increases your neurotransmitters (AKA your "happy chemicals") like serotonin and dopamine. It can definitely leave you feeling better than when you started!
However, when looking at depression through the model of functional medicine, we see that low mood is often a symptom of an underlying condition, rather than an illness in and of itself. So although exercise might make you feel better temporarily, it’s not treating the root of the problem.
So what underlying conditions could be causing symptoms of depression?
1. Inflammation
Research shows that inflammation in the brain is found in individuals who struggle with depression. But where does this inflammation come from?
Chronic low levels of inflammation in the body are common due to stress, busy schedules, exposure to toxins in our personal care and cleaning products, and overconsumption of processed and packaged foods (just to name a few). Unfortunately, intense or prolonged exercise acts as an additional stress that can contribute to chronic inflammation, if something is not done to counteract it. This may be why many high-level athletes and dedicated fitness enthusiasts struggle with low mood, despite their physical activity levels.
2. Gut microbiome imbalances
Your gut microbiome is a colony of bacteria that live in your intestines. Bacteria is often associated with being “bad” but that is not the case here! These bacteria are responsible for supporting a tremendous amount of function in your body, including the production of “happy chemicals” like serotonin. It’s estimated that up to 95% of your serotonin is made in the gut. If you don’t have the right bugs to make the neurotransmitters, you will not have enough available to support a positive mood, which can leave you feeling low.
Diet, stress, and antibiotic use can impact the diversity of your microbiome, which means eating gut-healthy foods, reducing stress, and using antibiotics only when necessary can help to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria to support mood.
3. Food sensitivities
Food sensitivities seem like they are on the rise in our population. We typically associate these sensitivities with gut disturbances, assuming that if an individual is sensitive to a particular food, that they will experience symptoms like bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, or vomiting. However, low mood is a common reaction to unagreeable foods that often flies under the radar. This is because repeated exposure to the aggravating food creates inflammation in the body, which as you saw in point 1, can lead to symptoms of depression. Some of the most common culprits are gluten, dairy, eggs, alcohol, nuts, legumes and nightshades.
4. Nutrient deficiencies
Like following a recipe, your body needs a set of “ingredients” to perform specific tasks that support your mood. But unlike cooking in your kitchen, your body can’t substitute an ingredient if it’s unavailable. This means that if you don’t have the right nutrients to perform essential functions like neurotransmitter production, metabolism, or detoxification, then you will likely struggle with low mood.
Some important nutrients that support mood are omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B9, B12, and D, selenium, and iodine.
But don’t rush to take supplements, speak with a functional medicine physician to determine if supplementation is right for you.
5. Nervous system dysregulation
Your nervous system is more archaic than dial-up internet. Needless to say, it doesn’t respond especially well to the demands of modern society. This means we spend much of our time in “fight or flight” mode, which is incredibly taxing on the body. Without intentional rest (and I don’t mean scrolling through social media or reading articles!) the nervous system is always in survival mode, which wreaks havoc on digestion, blood sugar, thought processes, hormone function, and sleep (to name only a few!). Dysfunction in these areas can lead to symptoms of depression.
If these issues are not dealt with, exercise will only mask your symptoms temporarily by giving you a quick hit of neurotransmitters. This leaves you dependent on exercise to boost your mood which can leave you feeling low on the days you don’t exercise. And if you're someone who does intense and/or prolonged exercise, you can even aggravate these underlying conditions, which can make you feel worse.
If you're already moving your body consistently but still struggling with depression (whether clinically diagnosed or just feeling low), Beyond Exercise might be a fit for you! In this 4 month program, we work together to calm the nervous system, ditch inflammation, support your microbiome, and much more, so that you can feel your best and perform even better!
Book your free, no-obligation clarity call to see if Beyond Exercise is a fit for you!
Jennifer Schmidt, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jennifer Schmidt is Recreation Therapist, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and self-proclaimed "Mental Health Mentor." When consistent triathlon training didn't "cure" her depression and anxiety (as her education promised), Jennifer sought other answers and discovered the root of her mental illnesses were likely being amplified by her intense training regime. Her personal mental health experience combined with her professional experience in psychiatry fuelled her to start Ignite Health Coaching and Wellness, where she mentors endurance athletes on creating a lifestyle for positive mental health while simultaneously unlocking their true athletic potential.
