How Exercise Helps Alleviate Depression
ic300-black-indoor-cycling-bikesWhen experiencing anxiety, depression or stress, exercising is often the last thing that will be on your mind. However, the interesting thing is that exercising could potentially help you out when it comes to relieving stress and depression symptoms. As such, it is advisable that you consider working out when in situations that you feel highly stressed out.

Exercising or working outcomes in quite helpful as it will help prevent against different health problems like diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure amongst many others. Researchers have found that exercising comes with physical and psychological benefits that will have a great impact on anxiety and depression and will help improve mood.

The truth of the matter is that starting a workout or exercise session when depressed or stressed can be rather hard. However, the good thing is that once you have started and are motivated, exercising will make a big difference in your life.

While the links between depression, anxiety and exercising are not completely clear, the fact remains that physical activity will lower or ease most of the symptoms depression. At the same time, frequent exercising will considerably lower chances of depression and anxiety coming back.

My Favorite Ways To Exercise
Running (Jogging)
Cycling (Riding a Road Bike)
Lifting Weights
Walking
How Exercising Helps With Anxiety And Depression
Release of endorphins
Our brains produce different feel-good hormones known as endorphins, endocannabinoids plus different neurotransmitters that handle our regulating our moods and feelings. The higher the levels of these hormones are in our bodies, the better we feel. When you exercise, these hormones are released and will essentially boost your mood and attitude.

Lowering stress propagating chemicals
When we exercise, some of the hormones that usually promote stress levels are reduced; meaning that your depression and anxiety symptoms are considerably lowered.

Increases body temperature
Exercising considerably increases our body temperatures. This change in temperatures has a calming effect on the body as it helps regulate a couple of different things within the system and leaves you feeling much relaxed at the end of the day.

Fitness
At the same time, regular exercising will consequently lead to staying and looking fitter than ever. This will come with its own physical, emotional and health benefits that you will appreciate much later in time.

At the same time, regular exercising comes with plenty of emotional and physiological benefits that will positively impact your depression or anxiety. Some of these benefits include:

Improved Self-Esteem
One of the things that depression does to a person is it lowers their confidence and leaves them feeling bad about themselves. However, regular exercising and the benefits that come along with it will considerably boost your self-esteem as you meet your exercising challenges or goals. At the same time, the physical benefits of working out will leave you looking great; essentially leaving you feeling much better about yourself.

Focusing On Other Things Other Than Your Worries
The great thing about exercising is that it requires you to be attentive and focused on the exercises you are doing. As such, it serves as a very good distraction that will help you get your mind away from the different cycles of negative thoughts and ideas that feed depression and anxiety.

More Social Interaction
SONY DSC

Often, working out or exercising will mean attending a gym or going to the park for a good workout session. As such, you have a better chance to socialize with people out there as you go about your exercising. This will considerably improve your mood as friendly interactions actually can help improve how you feel about yourself.

A Healthier Way To Cope
Exercising is, as a matter of fact, one of the healthiest ways to cope with depression and anxiety as compared to using medication and other negative approaches like drinking alcohol. Why? Because your approach to treating the problem involves doing physical activities that will not only lower symptoms but also presents health, social, and physical benefits.

Exercising Your Way To Health
While the debate may be on which exercising approach works best is important to understand, any form of physical activity will considerably help how you feel at the end of the day. As such, it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you get more active physically when facing depression or anxiety, the likelier it is that the symptoms are going to get lowered.

Now the important thing is that you get more physically involved; nonetheless, doing structured exercises is mostly advised as this will keep you focused on achieving different training objectives and goals. As such, if you are often experiencing anxiety or depression, joining a local gym or taking up one of those workout regimens could come in handy.

Since you cannot always be exercising, it would be advisable that you embrace a more active lifestyle. As such, to lower chances of experiencing anxiety or depression during the day, it would be advisable that you take up doing a smaller amount of physical activity throughout the day. For instance, instead of using the elevator, take the stairs or whenever things seem to be pushing you against the wall, go out for a short walk. Doing this will help as you get to focus on different things, helping you take your mind off the different negative things surrounding you and pushing you to depression or anxiety.

Conclusion
It is also advised that you consider doing most of your physical activities with more people as strong social support is crucial for people with depression. The great thing is that there are group exercise classes and are what you should consider joining. Alternatively, you could opt to exercise with your partner or with a close friend. This way, you get to enjoy emotional comfort even as you physically work your way through depression and anxiety.

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+Share on LinkedinShare on Pinterest