Age 43. 20 years of anxiety and depression. 5 years of training. 150mg sertraline daily for 17 years. Work and home life good. Desk job. Alcohol intake low. Sleep 6-8 hours a night. Diet healthy. Calories 3000-3,500 a day. Protein 150-200g a day. No current injuries. Physical health good just now but lots of colds last winter. Training:
I’ve been getting 24-48 episodes of anxiety and depression over the last year that consistently follow on from taxing, high intensity training sessions, especially on 1RM testing weeks. No other obvious consistent factors common to episodes.
It kind of sounds to me like you might need to see your psychiatrist to make sure you’re on the appropriate dose and are getting talk therapy as well. That said, I’m not sure if I know of any real connection between testing/peaking cycles and anxiety/depression incidence. Further, I’d be wondering if during this time when the volume is low and intensity is high if there’s just less training that is going on and this makes your symptoms worse…
Charles Poliquin writes and talks a fair bit about this. He does mention that there is little research in this area but from his own experience (with trainees much further up the food chain than me) he says that high intensity, low volume training affects the old noggin. I suppose this ties up anecdotally with post-meet blues. When I consult Dr Google the link between serotonin and cortisol keeps coming up. My old man and my father in law both had glioblastoma and I recall dexamethasone, which I believe mimics the effects of cortisol, driving them a bit loopy. That said, I would expect inflammation and therefore cortisol production to be higher when the volume is higher.
In the absence of scientific research and therefore scientific method, I like to apply Occam’s razor. Take the answer with the fewest assumptions. High intensity training precedes depressive episode. Episode stops when high intensity training stops. Ergo stop high intensity training. Those medieval monks knew a things or two. It does make testing 1RM less accurate but I don’t have a problem becoming Rep Man.
Hmmm, well Poliquin is a quack so…I’m not sure if I’d take anything he’s published on this seriously.
Additionally, dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid that does tend to act like cortisol and people generally report improved sense of well being while being treated with it (not loopy). Again, people are individuals of course, but you get what I’m saying.
I would not agree with the assertion that high intensity training causes depressive episode with the absence of data. I think this is multifactorial and would, in fact, argue that “low volume causes depressive episodes” over “high intensity”. What’s the cut off for intensity anyway, e.g. what’s high and what’s not? Perhaps we shouldn’t dole out information about this thing just yet.
The research and treatment for anxiety and depression for years was based on the theory that the underlying cause was the bodies lack of production of serotonin. This is why SSRI’s are usually prescribed, which you are taking. The new theory is that it is in fact that your stress hormones are turned on and can’t be turned off. So a new treatment for a lot of people has been Ketamine which is a tranquilizer. The goal is to turn off your stress hormones.
You’ve been taking an SSRI for 17 years, so getting off may or may not be possible for several reasons. TALK TO YOUR PSYCHIATRIST ABOUT YOUR MEDICATION
So, as Jordan said this is still multi factorial for you. It is all things combined and then the stress of training that causes the episode. That high volume can’'t also cause that stress is naive. Over training of either variety might and you are saying you are sensitive to this. Some of that is age.
Treatment plans to discuss with your psychiatrist.
talk therapy but also mindfulness meditation
The combined approach is listed under “Other Treatments”
You can literally use the time between sets to meditate. That will not be the same as doing 20 to 30 minutes at home but it will help.
2)When other stuff is going on in your life, maybe take it easyish in the gym. Maybe cut out accessory work or don’t do PR’s 1’s or 5’s during that time. This will take some time to play with.
and most important 3) TALK TO YOUR PSYCHIATRIST ABOUT YOUR MEDICATION