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| Exercise,
EMDR & Mental Health |
This Week's Blogs
Exercise Helps Several Psychiatric
Disorders
- June 14, 2002
- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)--Improvements in mental health
can be added to the long list of benefits derived from regular
exercise, Canadian researchers report.
- After reviewing all the studies published since 1981 on
exercise and mental health, researchers found that exercise
- whether strength training, running, walking or other forms
of aerobic exercise - helps to alleviate mild to moderate
depression and may also help treat other mental disorders
including anxiety and substance abuse disorders.
- "There is now considerable evidence that regular exercise
is a viable, cost-effective but underused treatment for
mild to moderate depression that compares favorably to individual
psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and cognitive therapy,"
report Gregg A. Tkachuk and Dr. Garry L. Martin of the department
of psychology at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada. Their findings are published in the June
issue of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
- The researchers conducted a review of published reports
in which exercise was studied as a treatment for psychiatric
disorders.
- In one study of the benefits of exercise among seriously
depressed individuals, people who ran, walked or performed
strengthening exercises three times a week for about 20
to 60 minutes at a time were significantly less depressed
after five weeks and the improvements lasted for up to one
year.
- Exactly how exercise helps lessen depression is not fully
understood, but a combination of factors including the release
of brain chemicals called endorphins are most likely involved.
Endorphins produce calming, soothing effects. Exercise may
provide a distraction from negative emotions such as sadness
and hopelessness - two hallmarks of depression.
- Researchers also report that exercise is more effective
than placebo {"dummy" pills) at reducing symptoms of panic.
In one study of 46 people with moderate to severe panic
disorder, those who ran three times a week for 10 weeks
and those who took antianxiety medications felt better than
people who took placebo. Panic disorder is marked by intense,
disabling feelings of tension or extreme fear for no apparent
reason.
- The investigators note, however, that treatment with the
drug chlomipramine was a faster, more effective treatment
than exercise in patients with panic disorder.
- The way in which exercise alleviates anxiety is also not
clear, but it may help buffer stress. Studies included in
the new review also showed that exercise may help treat
people with schizophrenia, a psychiatric disorder marked
by delusions, confusion and emotional turmoil. However more
studies are needed to confirm these findings, researchers
note.
- Exercise may be an important component of treatment for
body image problems, substance abuse problems, and somatic
disorders in which mental symptoms manifest as physical
pain, the studies suggest.
- Exercise is effective short-term treatment for the reduction
of destructive behavior and for increasing work performance
in people with developmental disabilities such as attention
deficit disorder, marked by an inability to concentrate
and hyperactivity, the study showed.
- Besides reducing depression, anxiety and other mental
symptoms, regular exercise is known to reduce risk of heart
disease and certain types of cancer.
- Tkachuk and Martin note that more research is needed to
confirm many of these findings.
- "We hope that this update provides an impetus for professionals
in the field to consider expanding the scope of their practice
with this viable, cost-effective intervention strategy,"
they conclude.
EMDR, Reccommended Therapy
for Post traumatic Stress
- an article from Dr. Weil -
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) has been
popularized by Hollywood and the media as an affliction
of soldiers. The horrors of war continue to haunt them and
cause havoc in their lives. But any survivor of a traumatic
event can suffer from PTSD. The disorder is characterized
by anxiety, phobias, difficulty concentrating and nightmares
like you describe. Frankly, it's a tough one to treat.
- However, in the last several years a technique called
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has
been turning heads in the field as a way of "digesting"
the disturbing emotions and processing the memories.
- The technique was first developed by the clinical psychologist
Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., who noticed that whenever a disturbing
thought entered her mind, her eyes would move back and forth.
This movement seemed to shift the disturbing thought from
her consciousness, and when she brought the thought back
to mind again, it wasn't as bothersome. Dr. Shapiro then
began testing her theories on survivors of combat and sexual
abuse, with positive results. Recently, the efficacy of
the treatment has been supported by a number of controlled
studies. About 22,000 practitioners offer it nationwide
-- from private offices to emergency shelters.
- When using EMDR, a therapist typically asks the patient
to bring to mind an image of the traumatic memory and to
experience the negative emotions that go with it. While
doing so, the patient moves his or her eyes quickly back
and forth following the therapist's hand. This is the “desensitization”
phase. Then it’s another set of eye movements, but this
time the patient is asked to think positive thoughts. After
each set the patient discusses his or her thoughts and feelings
with the therapist.
- No one is quite sure how EMDR works, however. Even Dr.
Shapiro, who coauthored "EMDR: The Breakthrough Therapy
for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Trauma" (Basic Books,
1997), can only speculate. One theory asserts that traumatic
events differ from normal events in the way the brain processes
them. What the eye movement appears to do is facilitate
desensitization to the painful memory, helping the brain
"digest" the event.
- EMDR can be an incredibly emotional process and should
be done only with a qualified practitioner. I have no direct
experience with the practice, but it looks like a nonharmful,
noninvasive method that may work and is definitely worth
trying. For a referral to a certified practitioner, contact
the EMDR Institute, PO Box 51010, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950
or call (408) 372-3900.
- Breathing exercises and physical exercise are important
first steps toward reducing your stress level. Practicing
a deep breathing exercise can be calming and energizing
and can even help with stress-related health problems such
as panic attacks or digestive disorders. Here is a breathing
exercise I often recommended to my clients for stress reduction:
- Try to do this breathing exercise at least twice a day.
You can repeat the whole sequence as often as you wish,
but don't do more than four breaths at one time for the
first month of practice. (This exercise is fairly intense
and has a profound effect on the nervous system -- (with
this exercise, more is not better). This exercise
is the most powerful tool I know for stress management.
- I recommend regular aerobic activity to help eliminate
stress. A brisk walk for at least 15 minutes qualifies.
Work up to exercising for thirty minutes, five days a week.
Biking, swimming, jumping rope, or bouncing on a trampoline,
are alternatives for keeping an aerobic workout from becoming
boring.
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The
Choices You Make Today, Determine Your Tomorrow,
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Karen Dougherty MS -
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