Student Thoughts: Meditation and exercise to combat depression
- Feb 19, 2016
- 2 min read
College is an exciting time, but it can also be very challenging and demanding, so Panthers are bound to feel stressed throughout the semester. Stress can be good as it keeps you alert, motivated and primed to respond to danger. However, too much stress or chronic stress could lead to depression.
This opinion article was originally featured in PantherNOW and focuses on how to combat stress through mediation and exercise.
Check out the article’s excerpt below and click the link if you want to read the full story!
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Maytinee Kramer/Staff Writer
College is an exciting time, but it can also be very challenging and demanding, so Panthers are bound to feel stressed throughout the semester. Stress can be good as it keeps you alert, motivated and primed to respond to danger. However, too much stress or chronic stress could lead to depression.
Depression comes in many different forms. In a 2013 survey conducted by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, 36.4 percent of college students reported to have experienced some level of depression. Depression can leave a student feeling detached from everyone and helpless, making it difficult to work, sleep, study and eat.
While there are treatments and medicine to fight depression, sometimes, the best way to get back in gear is to go back to the basics.
Two natural ways to combat stress and depression are meditation and exercise. Meditation allows one to embrace their natural capacity in order to heal, while exercising has many benefits from weight loss to improving mood and a boost in energy. A new study from Rutgers University in New Jersey revealed that when meditation and exercise are combined, they can act as an active weapon to fight depression.
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Photo Credit: Maytinee Kramer
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