Treating Depression and Anxiety with Dynamic Running Therapy with William Pullen #15
Dr. Rangan Chatterjee speaks with psychotherapist William Pullen, founder of Dynamic Running Therapy and author of "Run For Your Life," about how running and walking can serve as powerful therapy for mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. Pullen shares his personal journey and practical strategies for leveraging movement for emotional well-being.
Deep Dive Analysis
14 Topic Outline
Introduction to William Pullen and 'Run For Your Life'
William's Personal Meltdown and Discovery of Running
The Role of Antidepressants in Initial Recovery
Overcoming Motivation Barriers for Exercise While Depressed
Defining Dynamic Running Therapy
Running's Impact on Thought Clarity and Creativity
Outdoor Running vs. Treadmill: Benefits of Nature
Understanding Mindful Running Practices
Personal Transformation: From Depression to Marathon Runner
Distinguishing Between Excellence and Striving in Running
Addressing Common Obstacles to Starting a Running Practice
Running as a Long-Term Mental Health Regulator
Recommended Running Frequency and Pragmatic Approaches
Final Encouragement: Empathy Runs and Taking the First Step
3 Key Concepts
Dynamic Running Therapy
A method created by William Pullen that combines movement (dynamic) with running as a form of therapy. It involves using specific questions while running to explore and process feelings related to mental health conditions like depression or anxiety, leveraging the physical act to bring clarity.
Mindful Running
A mindfulness practice applied to running, focusing on sensory input such as footfall, breath, the sensation of fresh air, or surrounding nature. The goal is to stay grounded in the present moment and disengage from constant thoughts about the past or future.
Excellence vs. Striving
Excellence is defined as the enjoyment of growth, learning, and competence, aiming to be one's best. Striving, conversely, often stems from a feeling of not being good enough, leading to a relentless pursuit of external achievements that may not bring lasting satisfaction or presence.
8 Questions Answered
Running can help bring up feelings and clarify thoughts, acting as a powerful tool for processing emotions and problems. It fosters a sense of accomplishment and empowerment, which can significantly improve mental well-being.
While it's one of the hardest things to do, taking small, manageable steps (even a 10-meter run or walking) can lead to significant progress. Antidepressants can sometimes provide the mental space needed to make these initial choices.
Dynamic Running Therapy involves using specific questions while running to explore and take notes on one's experience with conditions like depression, leveraging the physical act of running to help bring up answers and clarity.
Running outdoors offers additional benefits such as potential companionship, exposure to nature (microbiome, vitamin D), fresh air, diverse sensory input, and a sense of accomplishment from moving from point A to point B, which resonates with our biology and sense of achievement.
While excellence and challenges can be positive, William Pullen suggests that 'striving' (often rooted in not feeling good enough) can be detrimental. For mental well-being, the focus should be on the process and the present moment, rather than solely on competitive metrics.
Common excuses include 'I'm not a runner' or 'I'm not fit.' These can be overcome by starting slowly, even with walking, and gradually working up to a jog, while also addressing negative self-talk and focusing on progress.
For William Pullen, running became his primary therapy and mental health regulator, allowing him to successfully come off antidepressants after six months. He uses it as a reliable 'fix' to feel mentally and physically better.
William Pullen personally finds three runs a week to be effective, typically two during the week and one on the weekend. He suggests this frequency as a good starting point for most people, even if it begins with walks.
17 Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Movement for Mental Health
Engage in physical activities like running or walking to significantly benefit mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, as movement is a powerful tool for well-being.
2. Start with Small, Achievable Steps
When initiating an exercise routine, especially if feeling low or overwhelmed, begin with very small, manageable steps (e.g., a 10-meter run or a short walk) to build momentum and make the goal feel attainable.
3. Challenge Negative Self-Talk
Actively monitor and question your internal dialogue, especially if it’s persecutory. Reframe ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’ into more compassionate language like ‘could’ or ‘would like to,’ treating yourself with the same kindness you would offer others.
4. Practice Mindful Running
Focus on sensory inputs during your run, such as your footfall, breath, the surrounding environment, and fresh air. This practice helps you stay in the present moment and reduces worries about the past or future.
5. Run Outdoors for Enhanced Benefits
Prioritize running outdoors whenever possible to gain additional advantages like social interaction, exposure to nature (benefiting your microbiome and providing vitamin D), fresh air, and diverse sensory input, which collectively enhance the overall experience.
6. Use Running for Clarity and Creativity
Engage in running to de-stress, generate creative ideas, and process life’s challenges. The physical act of running can naturally clarify thoughts and help you find answers to problems you were struggling with.
7. Utilize Specific Questions While Running
When dealing with mental health conditions like depression or anxiety, run with specific questions in mind to explore your experiences. The process of running can help bring up answers and provide clarity to your feelings.
8. Run with a Partner for Motivation
If you’re struggling with motivation or mental health, consider running with a friend or partner. The camaraderie and shared experience can be enormously encouraging and help you stay consistent.
9. Consider Antidepressants as a Bridge
If severely depressed, and advised by a doctor, consider antidepressants as a temporary aid to quiet mental noise. This can enable you to think more rationally and initiate beneficial actions like exercise.
10. Regulate Mental Health with Consistent Running
Integrate running into your routine as a primary method for regulating mental health, using it consistently as a form of therapy. Knowing that a run will improve your mood provides confidence and empowerment.
11. Aim for Three Runs Per Week
Target approximately three running or walking sessions per week (e.g., two during the week and one on the weekend). Adjust intensity and duration based on personal fitness, starting with walks if needed, for consistent mental well-being support.
12. Be Pragmatic with Running Aids
If listening to music or podcasts helps you get out and move, do it. Prioritize getting active over strict adherence to ‘pure’ mindful silence, as the goal is to get your body moving in fresh air.
13. Balance Excellence with Presence
Pursue excellence and challenges in your activities, but be mindful of not constantly striving from a place of feeling ’not good enough.’ Balance ambition with appreciating the present moment to avoid burnout.
14. Learn from Lapses in Routine
View periods where you reduce activity and subsequently feel worse as educational opportunities. This reinforces the understanding that positive choices lead to better feelings, strengthening your intrinsic motivation.
15. Take Ownership of Your Well-being
Actively experiment with guidance and tools to discover what practices genuinely work for you. Ultimately, you must take personal ownership of your well-being journey to find sustainable solutions.
16. Engage in an Empathy Run
If you or someone you know feels overwhelmed, go for an ’empathy run or walk’ together. This shared experience can provide mutual support, help process feelings, and benefit both individuals.
17. Trust the Process of Starting
Despite feeling weighed down or immovable, trust that initiating movement with even one or two steps will eventually lead to a natural flow and clarity, making the effort worthwhile.
6 Key Quotes
I knew that the depression was telling me things that I knew weren't really true. And so I knew that I had to ignore those voices and start doing something.
William Pullen
It's the hardest thing to go from being depressed to going running. You know, there are not many things that are harder than that. And yet it's what I'm advocating to people.
William Pullen
When you are depressed or confused, or let's say you're trying to work your way through a problem, when I set out from A and I get to B, one of the things that's changed... I've changed from being the man who at A didn't know what to do... When I've got to B, I'm now a doer. I'm a different man at that point.
William Pullen
Mindfulness in the Buddhist tradition is to try to escape the irrelevance of thinking about the past and the future all the time. Because we need to stay in the present, don't we? There only ever is the present in that sense.
William Pullen
I fundamentally believe that no patient or no member of the public would or should do anything that I or anyone else recommend them to do long term unless they're feeling different.
Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
I know at the end of that run I'm going to feel mentally better no matter what I think about. I'm going to feel mentally better, physically better. It's a fix.
William Pullen
1 Protocols
Dynamic Running Therapy for Depression
William Pullen- Read the introduction on depression within the book.
- Use the 20 specific questions provided to run with, as many times as desired.
- Explore and take notes on your particular experience with depression during the runs.
- Allow the physical process of running to help bring up answers and clarity to your feelings.