
Rock climbing significantly reduces depression - brahmwg
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4554856/Rock-climbing-significantly-reduces-depression.html
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nlawalker
Bouldering is awesome for a million reasons, and is incredibly easy to try
out/get started with.

Seriously, if you have ever given climbing a passing thought or even just saw
a picture once and thought it looked cool, try it out. Find a gym near you,
call them up, confirm that they have a bouldering area - not just roped - and
ask them how much a day pass with shoe rental is. Put on something comfortable
and get yourself there and you'll be climbing the walls within 5 minutes. You
can go by yourself - you don't need a partner or spotter - but it's a great
social activity, so take your partner/friends/kids if you want.

Bouldering is climbing low to the ground over pads, so there are no harnesses
or ropes and no required safety training (beyond whatever your gym might
require - facility tour, short video, etc.). Most gyms have plenty of problems
catering to beginners. It's a novelty-seeking, flow-encouraging activity that
will keep you busy physically and mentally.

Be ready - your arms are going to be _tired_.

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samuel88
That's amazing that rock climbing helps! I had been suffering from depression.
It was caused by chronic stress in an abusive marriage. I couldn't understand
why I wasn't getting better after leaving. So my doc put me on
antidepresssants (
[http://antidepressivemedicines.com/](http://antidepressivemedicines.com/) ).
Now I am off antidepressants and feel happy again:)

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cbanek
I really agree anything that takes your total concentration is great for
helping to snap out of depression. Depression I view mostly as a cyclone of
shittiness in mental feelings, which seems to feed back on itself (as does
happiness).

Other things that I find get me out of whatever I was thinking before: Driving
(especially fast, or fun roads), shooting a gun, Starcraft / RTS games (at
least if you want to win).

I think there's also something for repetitive actions, such as jogging or
running, which kind of slowly lull you out of your current thinking.

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chickenfries
So just to be clear, they had two test groups and they both rock climbed?
Don't we already know that any kind of exercise is good for depression?

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hdhzy
Was it a double blind controlled study? But seriously, I don't see a link to
the paper...

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z0k
I think this is the study they are citing
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281260875_Indoor_ro...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281260875_Indoor_rock_climbing_bouldering_as_a_new_treatment_for_depression_Study_design_of_a_waitlist-
controlled_randomized_group_pilot_study_and_the_first_results)

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throwawayclimb
This mirrors my own experiences.

When climbing it's like a nagging part of my brain shuts off. I imagine this
is what other people experience during meditation. For me this works better
than drugs.

I have a partner who's suicidally depressed. Climbing is the only thing that
gets them out of bed.

The dark side of this is that high cliffs provide easy access to self-harm.

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rurban
Surfing even more. And much safer.

It's the water temperature and the noise of the waves, which cool you down.

