There are proven ways to manage common mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety. This includes psychotherapy or counseling, which allows a person to work through their challenges that they are facing, and to develop the skills in order to manage such emotions. There is also the option of receiving medical treatment by a psychiatrist.
However, you may not be aware of this fact: exercise can be very helpful for your mental health.
Runner's High: It feeld good.
Physical exercise has been shown to release endorphins, which is a feel-good chemical that provides us with a feeling of well-being. This can include any sort of exercise that elevates your heart rate, such as jogging, lifting weights, or playing sports. If you’ve heard of the term “runner’s high” before, it means just that: runners experience a “high”, or an increased feeling of well-being after running for an extended period of time! Feeling down? Exercise could be a great solution to that.
A healthy lifestyle that incorporates physical exercise also gets us in shape. When we look good, we tend to feel good about ourselves. When you start active living, you’ll realize that you have more energy, enthusiasm, and confidence in going through your day. Not only is your body responding in a more effective way through your daily tasks and challenges, how you view yourself also start being more positive. As you begin to start meeting your fitness goals, you begin to gain self-confidence. Your can-do attitude grows, and so are positive feelings toward yourself.
When you are feeling depressed or anxious, you’ll notice that you tend to worry or get caught up in negative thinking rather often. One effective way in managing that is to incorporate healthy activities which bring about positive outcomes to you. When you incorporate exercise into your daily routine, you are taking a significant portion of your time away from negativity and worrying, and instead doing something positive for yourself. The benefits are three-fold: you give your mind a rest, you start feeling better (remember endorphins?), and your body will also start thanking you!
The next time you’re caught up in these feelings, give exercise a go! Go out for a jog, enjoy the breeze, and notice how good it makes you feel.
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