Depression and Activity: What's in Your Way?

Some days it may seem like you just can't move. Depression may leave you feeling drained of energy, both mentally and physically.

In these moments, you may want to freeze, curl up, or hide. You may even try to numb yourself in ways that your future self will regret. And as you may already know, these regrets can feed into the negative thoughts and feelings that make your depression worse.

This is the nature of depression. And if you've been here before, you probably know this better than anyone.

Coping with depression is a journey of learning to accept yourself, to turn your mind away from negative thinking. And on that journey, you've probably noticed that movement can make a difference in how you feel. Even small amounts of activity—like walking around the block on a sunny day or stretching to calm music—may help you feel better.

Looking back, what types of movement have helped you feel better? How did you feel after you were active?

But it's the classic problem: You tell yourself that you should move more, but somehow you talk yourself out of it.

Being active regularly may help you feel better. So it's important to try to find a way to get that benefit. Sometimes the key is to step back and identify what makes it hard for you to be active regularly. The barriers may be situations, people, or your own thoughts.

Just identifying your barriers is the first positive step toward getting around them.

Getting around your barriers

What makes it hard for you to be more active? What might help you get around these barriers? If you like, you can use the questions below to start figuring out what works for you.

Your barriers, your solutions
What sorts of activities do you truly enjoy?


What keeps you from moving more?


What are some possible solutions that could help you push through these barriers?(Example: Someone you can count on to be a walking buddy)


What might be hard about trying these solutions?


What might be good about trying these solutions?


Imagine that you have kept up with your activity for a week. How might you feel better? How might your depression change?


What is one step you can commit to that could benefit your body and lift your mood?

When can you start?