1. Department of Behavioral Sciences
Depression Be Gone
By: Candace Ramroop
Department of Behavioral Sciences
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS & METHODS
CONCLUSIONS
Depression is disease that many people associate with Prozac and other depression medication when the problem can be solved naturally. New methods have to be created to help people cope with depression, new methods that do not include harmful medication that does more harm than good. Also, I believe more natural methods should be created or acknowledge as a way to help with certain problems in life. Exercise is such a powerful way to relieve stress and let out inner emotions, it is an art form that is taken for granted because let’s be real, people are lazy and when they hear the term exercise they rarely see the long term benefits.
For this game I used 5 subjects. Three of them were family members and the other 2 were people I did not know so well. I chose these five people based on several criteria. All of these five people were going through some sort of downtime in their life and dealing with a stage of depression. Some were more advanced than others and the advanced staged had me doubting how effective this game would be. Each one of my subjects were assigned to play my game for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks they had to report back to me and I would observe their progress. I compare their progress from the beginning to the end. I think it is important there is a before and after, because people would see themselves every day and never notice a difference until you show them a picture of how they looked before, then they see the progress they made. Most importantly I compare their mood. Exercise is so much more than physical appearance it has to do with the mood of a person, working out every day will improve the moods of my subjects, therefore getting rid of their depression once and for all. I collected data with before and after pictures and also having my subjects tell me how playing this game is helping their depression.
My experiment can potentially put an end to medication for depression. Depression is a very sensitive topic and being able to find an outlet for your problems is extremely important. Also, finding a way to channel your anger, fear and emotions into something that is beneficial is equally as important.
By combating depression with this game, it is allowing the world to look past medication and into alternative natural safe methods to relieve depression. This is very important because medication does more harm than good, for example when commercials for depression medication or any mediation for that matter is advertised, the risks and potential complications are always said at the end fast and almost impossible to comprehend. With that being said, why use drugs when there is a natural way to do everything. It is in everyone’s best interest that more games, coping mechanisms, and stimulators are made to help people cope with the problems of life.
Some problems that surround this study include a person might not be willing to exercise. It takes a lot to get on that treadmill or go to the gym, but once it is done frequently it will be a part of that person’s lifestyle and become a part of their daily routine. One part of this game that really has to be improves is the fact that a teenager going through depression might not be so intrigued by this game, the reason being is that when building this game I centered it around older people, so in the future I think it would attract more people if it was for every demographic.
OBJECTIVES
RESULTS
My study provides my subject with a sense of improvement, my theory is that if a person improves the way he or she looks then they will feel better about themselves. My entire project is based on the motto “When you look good, you feel good”. When a person exercises their body releases endorphins and endorphins makes a person happy, so a person who exercises will find it easier to battle depression. The most important part of my study was the before and after aspect. My subjects didn’t notice much difference with their weight loss but when it was compared to their before pictures they found the transformation miraculous.
It is predicted that with a daily routine of exercise and healthy eating, it will relieve the depression in my subjects.
The outcome for my experiment was everything I had hoped for it, while it helped more than others it essentially made a difference big and small in all of my subjects. This game is essentially making a difference in the lives of these individuals. It is helping them cope with their depression and also manage their depression. They are feeling better without the use of an antidepressant or other medication that can cause suicidal tendencies. I feel like there is a natural way to do everything it just takes some trial and error to get to that solution, not every disease requires a prescription pad. I could easily refer my subjects to a therapist but I do believe that there is natural way to overcome the darkest periods in your life. The number of women who found my game beneficial outnumbered the men. The mean number of days for a surge in weight loss were 15 for the women and for the men it was still 60 days. My results indicate that the women were more dedicated to this game, which also leads me to believe they value how they see themselves more than the men. Depression Be Gone has relieved the symptoms of depression and helped the subjects adopt a healthier lifestyle. From the data gathered, both men and women felt better after one exercise session. After 30 days, my subjects exhibited more positive behaviors such as smiling more and eating healthy.
REFERENCES
Blake, H. (2012). Physical activity and exercise in the treatment of depression. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 3,
Blumenthal, J. A., Smith, P. J., & Hoffman, B. M. (2012). Is Exercise a Viable Treatment for Depression? ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, 16(4), 14–21.
Craft, L. L., & Perna, F. M. (2004). The Benefits of Exercise for the Clinically Depressed. Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 6(3), 104–111.