New trial finds that frequent aerobic exercise reduces the hard-to-treat “negative symptoms” of schizophrenia

https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/06/20/new-trial-finds-that-frequent-aerobic-exercise-reduces-the-hard-to-treat-negative-symptoms-of-schizophrenia

Aerobic exercise – any activity that gets your heart pumping harder – improves mood, anxiety and memory. It can help people with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder. Now there’s evidence, from a randomised controlled trial published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, that a programme of regular aerobic exercise also reduces psychopathology in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. And it seems to have a particular impact on so-called “negative” symptoms, such as apathy and loss of emotional feeling, which are not improved by standard drug treatments.

“[W]hile antipsychotics [drug treatments] are essential in treating schizophrenia, interventions other than antipsychotic treatment…may be needed to achieve better outcomes,” write the authors of the new study, led by Peng-Wei Wang at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in Taiwan.

and related reading:

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My understanding is that negative symptoms can be caused by environmental conditions not sz alone. Naturally when someone is bed ridden, lonely, lost, deeply offended and otherwise, they’ll become depleted and withered away.

A human organism is vanquished in an environment of captivity and prodding will atrophy physically and thus mentally. I know that it is contrary to common understanding, but the environment is really inside the mind before it is outside around anyone. If the environment is in such a way that there are captors abusing you physically, depraving of nourishment, and so forth, then we know the results. Food, fitness activity, socially positive support, and knowledge combed with logic will due.

What most do not understand is that the sz is in an environment. There is what people like me called an interiorty of the mind, and if that virtual reality world inside of the brain is rendered in such away that it both abuses the self and behaves as an abused victim in such a bicameral state of mind (two chambered; Julian Jaynes), then it can be torture to do anything, speak to anyone, or go become anybody. It like a computerized, self containing mind prison inside without need for any real walls, administrators of vice, nor what you’d expect of an environment that would cause such distress as the article eludes to.

This is where the PTSD comes from, and that PTSD is heightened around people etc, so the person isolates quite often. Therefore the person becomes sedentary, and that augments so much of the negative symptoms.

Anyone with negative symptoms is likely isolated and forced to be so for any reason not just sz alone. There’s deprivation of activity, function, sociality, thinking, etc. The opposite is activity, thus the negative symptoms are solved.

I was highly athletic for throughout the heart of my sz years, and I was very much a daring ranger like active person. Naturally all of my neg syms vanished.

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Negative symptoms sucks balls…!!! I dont belive if any of meds or excercize improves neg.!!! Freaking hell…!!!

This is a good incentive for me, I’m in the process of trying to make life changes to improve myself mentally.

Hello Niraj,

Have you read the recent articles about negative symptoms? Loving - kindness therapy and aerobic exercise can both help improve negative symptoms.

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This is true… I find relieve of negative and depressive symptoms when I do intense aerobic work-outs. The less intense the less effective of relieving symptoms. The “negative” side of this is that you should maintain it for 7 days a week. Even healthy people are unable to sport 7 days a week.

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