The article mentions that "the three-hour-a-week group had a substantial reduction in symptoms." What does substantial mean? Need estimate of effect sizes to make any sense of such a statement. Need much more detail about the sample, too.
Did she start this program because of your suggestion? Anything else she was doing that may have increased her sense of control and well-being? What about time of year as a possible confound in seasonal depression? Was she actually diagnosed with depression or did the doctor decide one day to prescribe something for emotional distress because the doctor couldn't think of what else to do?
It was late summer/early fall. Her oldest daughter was close to the cut-off age for starting kindergarten, so she had her tested to see if see was ready. The test results showed that her daughter was significantly delayed in her large motor development, and my neighbor asked me for some suggestions. I suggested that she start an exercise program for herself, and that her daughters would probably join in with her of their own accord.
Misdiagnosis of mood disorders is a pervasive problem. MDs are (notoriously) poor at it. It's no surprise to me that many people do not respond well to antidepressants: It's because they are not actually depressed in a clinical sense. They have other things going on. Did the neighbor lady have other things going on that may have mimicked depression -- like maybe a sleep disorder that would in fact respond to exercise?
She went to an HMO. She did complain to me that one of her medications was causing her to have nightmares. When I explained to her how the body produces endorphins in response to exercise, and that this
might help her get off some of her medications, she
really started to warm up to the idea of an exercise program.
Eating disorders with mood regulation issues are not uncommon. In one study, almost half of the subjects diagnosed with anorexia qualified on DSM-IV criteria for exercise dependence. These folks are dependent on exercise for mood regulation. However, it would appear that many anorexics use exercise mainly to control weight and don't necessarily seek out exercise because it improves their affect. Treatment of anorexia should include psychotherapy.
People with anorexia also have sleep problems that may benefit from exercise. I'm thinking that diagnostic criteria for depression requires that you rule out the eating disorder. Is this neighbor lady anorexic?
No eating disorders. Weight was not an issue for her. The only sleep disorder she mentioned to me was one of her medications giving her nightmares.
Real clinical depression is a fairly serious condition and sometimes requires hospitalization. I personally think exercise is worth trying. But in fairness to the patient, exercise should not be the only thing in the way of treatment. For one thing, depressed people often have motivational deficits known as "behavioral inertia" or "impaired executive functions." They may be too shut down to get dressed or brush their teeth, let alone keep going with a 45-minutes-a-day exercise program. Some depressives are near-catatonic.
I would have to agree. Depression can have many contributing factors, therefore, unless a specific cause can be identified, limiting treatment of depression to only drugs, or only exercise, or only counselling, is not the best approach, imo.
Umm, would you think the researcher is looking for a significant increase in depression as a result of exercise? 
lol.
Touché my dear. But from a statistical point of view, a sample size like this (N=1) is not convincing. There may be a thousand people who experience little or no relief at all for every one person who does benefit. Not knowing whether the person in question qualifies on diagnostic criteria for Depression makes the study even less compelling. Call me fussy.
However, even though my observations might not be convincing to you, it in no way invalidates my observations and experiences.
