Exercise as Therapy for Depression: A Review of the Positive Psychosocial and Psychobiological Effects of Physical Activity

Depression has been conceptualized in two separate ways. Some define the phenomenon by a unique array of psychological abnormalities (a social and behavioural profile). On the other hand, depression can also be described as a quantifiable diseased state of the brain that may be cured using a biological therapy or pharmaceutical. Neither one of these definitions is incorrect; rather, they each describe different aspects of this form of mental illness. This duality inherent to understanding depression makes light of the sparse assemblage of literature that exists concerning such a socially, psychologically, and biologically complex phenomenon. Research has shown that the therapeutic benefits of exercise offer treatment for both the psychosocial and biological effects of depression. A more unified research perspective that looks for a coincidence of the social with the biological may allow for steps forward in understanding mental illness and disease.