A lifelong runner’s groundbreaking guide to fighting depression and anxiety, one run at a time
Everyone knows that running builds stronger muscles and a healthier heart. In Running Is My Therapy, longtime runner Scott Douglas shows how endurance running is also the best form of exercise to develop a healthier brain. A natural antidepressant, running reinforces the benefits of therapy and triggers lasting, positive physiological changes. In fact, some doctors now “prescribe” a running regimen as part of their first-line treatment plan for depression. Marshaling expert advice and a growing body of research, Douglas explains how we can all use running to improve mental health—and live happier.
About the Author
Scott Douglas is a contributing writer for Runner’s World. He has also been the editor of Running Times and Runner’s World’s news channel. Scott has written or cowritten several other books, including the New York Times bestseller Meb for Mortals, 26 Marathons, and perennial favorite Advanced Marathoning. He has run more than 110,000 miles since taking up the sport in 1979. Scott lives in South Portland, Maine.
Named by Women’s Running as one of twenty women who are changing the sport of running and the world, foreword author Alison Mariella Désir is the founder of Harlem Run and Run 4 All Women, and hosts the podcast Find Meaning (on the RUN).
Praise For…
“Douglas weaves evidence and personal experience into a helpful, highly-readable user’s guide.”—Runner's World
“[One of] this spring's best new running books.”—Outside
“Mental health is very important and I encourage others to avail themselves of this excellent book, and of course to keep running!”—Meb Keflezighi, Boston and New York City Marathon champion, Olympic Marathon silver medalist
“An enlightening read.”—Women's Running
“A great read for anyone interested in the links between exercise, mood, and wellbeing—plenty of clearly presented science, plenty of hard-earned practical experience, and some intriguing suggestions about why running is uniquely powerful compared to other forms of exercise.”—Alex Hutchinson, New York Times–bestselling author of Endure
“Everyone who cares about mental health needs to read Running Is My Therapy. Scott Douglas lays out all the evidence for running as an effective intervention for depression and anxiety in a way that’s both inspiring and practical.”—Sepideh Saremi, LCSW, founder of Run Walk Talk therapy
“Scott describes depression as if he were in my own head. Through personal experience and scientific research, he expertly addresses how depression uniquely impacts each one of us, and he inspires readers to harness the mental-health benefits of running to make it out the front door.”—Rob Krar, two-time Western States Endurance Run champion, founder, Rob Krar Ultra Camp
