Tag Archives: depression

7 Mental Health Reasons to Run

Mini participants running through downtown Indianapolis

Mini-marathon participants running through downtown Indianapolis.

In just under seven weeks, I will be running the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon for the second time. Part of the events leading up to the Indianapolis 500 each year, the Mini-Marathon is the largest half-marathon and the fifth largest running event in the United States. It is a major event for Indianapolis, including participants from all over the world, across age brackets, and of all speeds. I have fast new shoes and I am running more days than I’m not. I obviously have running on the brain. We write about the health benefits of running frequently, but there are several mental health benefits also.

1. Run when you are feeling angry or frustrated to burn off the extra energy. Research has shown that nothing relieves stress more than physical exercise.

2. Running increases endorphins which contributes to a general sense of well-being and mood elevation, so running can make you feel better when you are sad. (more…)

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Brooke Randolph

Can Salt Make You Happy?

There’s some good news about a food that’s long been chastised. University of Iowa researchers say that salt may act as a natural anti-depressant. This from the condiment that’s been blamed for hypertension. Go figure.

Tests on rats found that when there was a salt deficiency, they shied away from activities they normally enjoyed.

“Things that normally would be pleasurable for rats didn’t elicit the same degree of relish which leads us to believe that a salt deficit and the craving associated with it can induce one of the key symptoms associated with depression,” says psychologist Kim Johnson. (more…)

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Jason

Why Nutrition and Exercise are Essential to Mental Health

Why would a mental health therapist write and talk about nutrition, exercise, and weight loss? Believe it or not, these are very common subjects in group and individual therapy, as well as coaching. One of the reasons I have chosen to use a sliding-fee scale rather than insurance reimbursements in my private practice is to allow my clients to focus on the goals that are most meaningful to them. Weight loss and health improvement are very important goals to many, allowing them to increase energy and improve self-esteem.

Improving physical energy habits, including sleep, diet, and exercise, is often the first line of attack against the most common mental health concerns of anxiety and depression. Often, counselors must address such topics as part of a treatment plan when a client experiences the common side effect of weight gain as a result of taking medications to fight depression, bipolar disorder, psychotic symptoms, etc. In some cases, anti-depressant medication may be an optional tool to allow a client the extra boost needed to do the therapeutic work that can bring him or her out of that depression. (more…)

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Brooke Randolph

Strained Marriages Have Worse Effect on Women’s Health

An article written on U.S. News & World Report online discussed a very interesting study that found an unhappy marriage had worse effects on women’s health than their male counterparts.

It’s well documented in research that men and women in “strained” marriages (characterized by chronic arguing and anger) are more likely to be depressed than happier partners/couples. Also, research indicates that women in these argumentative and anger-filled relationships are more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar (also known as indicators of Metabolic Syndrome, which is a big leader of various chronic diseases), which increases their likelihood of heart disease. (more…)

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Kinsey

Lift Winter Blues with Yoga

Now that the holidays are over, the humdrum of winter is slowly setting in. For many, this time of year is affected by a seasonal mood disorder for Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is a kind of depression that waxes when the days become shorter and wanes as they grow longer.

Yoga has numerous health benefits with one of the most important being the ability to center your mood and find balance in your emotions and mental state. If you feel the heaviness of winter coming on, add a few uplifting and heart-opening yoga postures to your daily routine. The following asanas (postures) focus on breathing vital prana into our heart in order to lift our spirits and energize the flow of energy that circulates in and out of our body’s center. (more…)

Posted on January 11, 2026 by heather

Fighting the Post-Holiday Let Down

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s… In the last few months of the year the festivities, holidays, and activities steadily build. Many complain about the stress of the holiday season and say they look forward to the calm of January; however, it is common to experience some let down, sadness, and loneliness in the wake of celebrations, family, and friends. Don’t let January steal your joy.

Schedule time with friends. Now, in the relative calm, is the perfect time to plan one-on-one time with friends and catch up, or perhaps with that someone new you met at a holiday party that you would like to get to know. Restaurants should have more availability and traffic will be refreshingly decreased. Create an excuse to wear those new things Santa left under the tree, and get out of the house. (more…)

Posted on January 3, 2026 by Brooke Randolph

Don’t Let the Winter Season Leave You SAD

It’s that time of the year again. The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting colder. In Indiana, we have seen a few snow flurries, and I am dreading the graying of the sky for the winter. In response, we tend to sleep more, crave carbohydrates, and experience less energy. Although not an official DSM-IV TR diagnosis, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD, or seasonal depression) has been popularly accepted by lay persons, practitioners, and researchers alike.

Our natural response to the seasonal changes only becomes a disorder when the distress is in excess of what would be expected from the stressor (seasonal change) and/or when it interferes with functioning in more than one key life area. If you are late to work every day and fighting more with your significant other, your response may be severe enough to be considered a disorder. Regardless of the extent to which the seasonal change effects you, there are several things you can do to fight the winter blues. (more…)

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Brooke Randolph