How to Fight Depression with Fitness.
When I was in my early twenties I was bummed a lot. I had this feeling that everything was wrong and that everything I did was wrong. I had this feeling of guilt for no reason and this lack of mental clarity. It sucked. I had a lot of built up anxiety and depression. Now, the kind of depression that I had wasn’t severe or debilitating. Some people have it on a much more consistent and painful level than myself. I would call that clinical depression. I don’t feel that I had clinical depression but I definitely wasn’t well. So, this conversation that I am having with you is for people with mild anxiety and depression. I am not a doctor or psychologist but the information I am giving you is based on my personal experience and is backed up by scientific research. Here are 3 Tips for fight depression with Fitness.
1. Workout 3- 5 days a week: Your body is meant to move. It evolved for you to run, hunt and do physical labor. Some people are depressed because they aren’t moving enough. Your trapped at a desk all day looking at your computer and you aren’t using your body for what it was built for., When you workout, your body releases a ton of endorphins and feel good chemicals. Serotonin, norepinephrine Dopamine, Human Growth hormone. The molecules will help give you a since of mental clarity and ease. Working out will improve your mental health.
2. Hire a Trainer: I recommend that you find a trainer who is educated on the topic of mental health. You need somebody who will empathize with your depressed state. The right trainer will know how to elevate you without putting you down. If you get an overbearing trainer like, a Trainer from the “Biggest looser” the kind who using screaming, cursing and using negativity to push you, then chance are you are only to be feel worse about yourself. Find somebody who cares.
3. Keep a Mood Journal: Write down if you are feeling better on the days that you workout. This is important because can give you quantifiable perspective. Do you feel better after workouts? Do feel more relieved and less down? If it’s been several weeks and your working out hard then you might want to consider other clinical ways of treating your depression.