How often do you hear people say they overindulge when they are feeling depressed?
This leaves one feeling guilty.
Many share those experiences but SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) vice chairperson and clinical psychologist Zamo Mbele says exercising can help alleviate depression.
He says while working at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Diepkloof, Soweto, his biggest frustration was that the patient population and the facility had limited resources.
“I found relief when it dawned on me that I may not be able to prescribe medication because the pharmacy is full and they have no stock. I may not be able to prescribe a holiday to somebody because they don’t have resources. But I could prescribe exercise. I could prescribe physical activity.
“That was incredible for me to wrap my head around. I went and I looked for research and data that proved that physical exercise can be a medicine to people struggling with a whole host of things. The strangest thing which is so unfortunate is that we have known this for years, that physical exercise really can alleviate a lot of physical symptoms,” Mbele says.
Monday is World Mental Health Day. October is Mental Health Awareness Month.
“What we have also known for years is that it [exercise] does help with distress. It helps a person going through ordinary stress. We, as working individuals, may go through periods in time where there are a lot of demands on us. It really helps with that. In fact, not only does it help alleviate stress but it gives you more brain power. It actually pumps blood into the brain, pumps more oxygen, it makes you concentrate better…and longer. It improves memory...
“It alleviates anxiety as well. It alleviates mild-to-moderate presentations of depression.
"Physical exercise is one of the world’s most underrated anti-depressants."
He said a lot of patients he was seeing at the hospital were there because they were in trouble.
But after some exercise, Mbele says his patients would come back and tell him what they were seeing in their mental health.
“[They would say], ‘I’m not certain what I’m doing except going to the soccer club, running on the streets, walking to come see you'.
“I then started to see it not only on paper but in real life with people that had been struggling. I often say to people, 'do not wait until you are struggling to get on the road, to get on a treadmill or to join a club.
“'Watch how much better you will be doing. You think you are doing well now. I promise you, you will start thriving once you start getting into physical exercise and to this extent, I started off by speaking about how it helps when things have gone wrong."
He said exercise helps one's perspective and can also get you into better shape as well.
Fitness coach Tebogo Mabusela echoed Mbele’s sentiments, saying, “One needs to be physically and mentally strong and avoid negativity."
The theme for World Mental Health Day is Make Mental Health and Well-Being for All a Global Priority.
Sadag says the pandemic alone caused a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.
The World Health Organisation says it created a mental health global crisis.
Sadag statistics show that mental health services have been severely disrupted and the treatment gap for these conditions is widening especially in SA where it is estimated that 9 out of 10 people with a mental health condition do not have access to healthcare.
“The South African Depression and Anxiety Group receives over 3,000 calls per day from people throughout the country who are feeling depressed, anxious, burnt-out, traumatised and even suicidal.
“These call volumes have continued to increase since the start of the pandemic – with 600 calls per day pre-Covid, to 1,200 calls per day at the beginning of lockdown, to now over 3,000 calls per day, two years later, and call volumes are still growing monthly,” says Sadag.
“Like many countries around the world, SA was not prepared for the impact that Covid-19 would have on our mental health as a nation, or our healthcare systems, which were not equipped to deal with the crisis and high demand for mental healthcare services. As we move into this next phase, we need to ensure that mental health is prioritised and that we have a strategy to tackle the mental health crisis in South Africa,” says Sadag's ’s operations director Cassey Chambers.
To reach out for free mental health help, visit www.sadag.org or contact the organisation on 0800 70 80 90 or 0800 21 22 23 or SMS 31393.
mashabas@sowetan.co.za
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