Exercise is one of the most effective treatments for depression

Before going to Barbara’s event, I had one of her books, “Mindshift”. There are a great many true stories in it, about a turning point in someone’s thinking that changed their life.

But the one that struck me most was the story of Claudia, a bus driver with severe major depressive disorder. Things got worse when her bus was in an accident and she lost her job.

The Waterloo of her life had arrived. Claudia followed every piece of advice from her doctor, read books, consulted trainers.

But nothing changed until Claudia decided to try a Jazzercise dance class, one day after the accident happened.

Claudia’s doctor once said: “Moving works better than any drug I have ever prescribed.”

And Jazzercise changed Claudia’s life. Three years after the accident, she wrote:

“I believe I have learned to perceive the world in a less painful way, and that way of seeing demands constant learning and effort from me. I know it does not sound very good to keep praising my own effort to get what I want, but clearly, to manage it you have to concentrate and really try.

Living well has become my hobby and my work. I live a healthy life not because I want to live longer, but because I want to feel better in my life. I do not want to be hurt. How do I know that what I am doing will improve my health? I do not. From what I have read, it is not easy to reprogram a brain wrapped in loops of consciousness. I do not know how my deliberate efforts will affect my own perception. I simply choose to believe that what I do will make a difference. Joy has become the path I choose.

I think what depression has taught me is that I need to listen to myself and meet my own needs first. Today I choose myself. And once my own needs have been dealt with, I can look after other people, other creatures and other things. It has been a long and painful learning process, but it is really quite simple. It all comes down to putting love first.”