How Lexapro works
A client named Ken has suffered intermittently from depression since his early twenties. He was on lexapro. Now in his middle thirties, Ken lives alone, but has several close friends and generally does well in his life. He has a degree in computer programming, and for several years he was making a good living in that profession. However, during the economic downturn and the fall of the dot - com industry, Ken, like many other Americans, was laid off with little prospect for finding a new job. Ken and David had been workout buddies and met regularly at the gym on weekends. Two weeks into his unemployment, Ken planned to meet David at the gym at their regular time. He arrived fifteen minutes late, which was unusual for him. In fact, he was usually a few minutes early and busily stretching when David went to the locker room to change clothes. This day at the gym Ken was not only late but he had low energy and complained about his former employer, the weather, and the amount of weight he had been gaining. He also complained about the city, his difficulty in finding a date, and how crowded the gym was. David, a psychotherapist, made it a point not to play therapist with his friends, but this situation cried out for the simple question, “Ken, do you think you might be depressed?” Ken answered in the affirmative.
They started their workout, and David changed the conversation to the topic of the various exercises they would do that day. They also began to talk about a movie that David had seen. The conversation interested Ken because he was a fan of the actress starring in the movie. He knew a vast amount of trivia about the actress and told David several behind - thescenes stories about the actress. After about thirty minutes into the workout, Ken’s mood began to shift. He started to talk about plans for seeing upcoming movies, and he asked David if he was interested in going for a short walk at the lake following the workout. Then they had a discussion about how the combination of physical exercise (which dealt directly with Ken’s weight gain) and socializing (which dealt with his feelings of isolation) made him feel much better than staying at home or complaining. Ken said that he felt considerably better after the workout activity than he had when he had begun.
