How exercise might help treat depression better than counselling or leading medications – and a runner who says it saved her life

A study finds that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counselling or leading medications for improving depression, anxiety and distress symptoms

Hong Kong-based life coach Betty Grisoni started trail running to turn her physical and mental health around after suffering depression and suicidal thoughts

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Betty Grisoni uses trail running to gain control of her mental health and depression, which has also helped her lose weight - 70kg, to be exact.
A new study found that physical activity is more effective than counselling or leading medications for improving depression, anxiety and distress symptoms. Photo: Betty Grisoni

Lily Canter

Published: 4:15pm, 29 Mar 2024Updated: 6:26pm, 29 Mar 2024

When Betty Grisoni was at rock bottom and overcome with suicidal thoughts, running saved her life.

It gave her a sense of accomplishment and a reason to struggle out of bed each day.

Describing herself as “a classic Hong Kong story”, the French life coach arrived in the city more than 20 years ago and threw herself into a life of working and playing hard.

“I was not paying attention to my physical and mental health and I just crashed and burned. I found myself with depression and ignored it for the longest time, and then almost came to the end of the road with a suicide attempt,” she says.

Grisoni (centre) during the gruelling HK100 ultra race in January. Photo: HK100 2024

Believing her overweight body reflected her ill mind, she decided to lose weight. She initially began swimming, but when the coronavirus pandemic struck and pools closed, she quickly switched to trail running.