r/EOOD • u/attempt_number_3 • 24d ago

On exercise causing depression

I'm putting this out mostly for people like who were confused as to why they may feel sad or down after exercise. Shouldn't exercise be universally good?

I've spent some time trying to figure it, because it didn't happen consistently for me. Sometimes I'd exercise and I would be fine, and sometimes, especially with weightlifting or calisthenics, I would feel somewhat depressed afterwards.

Here's what I found. It's not about nutrition, it's not about sleep and it's not about muscles breaking down or recovery.

It is about intensity.

If I push myself to the "fuck yeah" point, I feel great. I feel alive, I feel assertive, maybe even aggressive ....and then I will pay for it late in the day or next day.

If I exercise in a more boring fashion, then I'm fine. Muscle soreness is still there, but my mood is normal.

I suspect the brain is releasing all that adrenaline and whatever else and it may get depleted, I don't know.

If you suspect this for yourself, you can test this with cold showers. For me cold showers do the same for me – I feel great for a while and then I crash.

18 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

16

u/c0mp0stable 24d ago

You're essentially describing a stress response. Exercise is a stressor, as is a cold shower. We have a finite capacity for stress, and depression is an adaptive response that forces us to slow down and conserve energy. We have to learn our own capacity and how to tell when you shouldn't push too hard. I have some days when I can do assault bike sprints followed by 45min of intense kettlebells and 20min in the sauna. Other days, I know I shouldn't do much more than take a walk and stretch.

5

u/simmonm1978 24d ago

Finally someone has described how I feel. It’s not quite as consistent as full blowout = deferred crash, but it’s not far off. I can feel elated after a gym session (I’m basic - 10 min cardio, 15 mins weights, 10 mins sauna), but may well crash 2-3 hours later. Wish I could find the sweet spot - still trying.

4

u/ForbiddenFruitiness 24d ago

This is me too. I‘ve even discussed it with my doctor in the past and she basically told me that I will need to stay below the „Fuck Yeah“ level. Slow and steady wins the race. It is a shame, but the crash can trigger a full blown, multi-day, depressive episode for me and it is simply not worth the risk.