Stress, depression and exercise

d3vilynn
d3vilynn Posts: 10 Member
edited November 25 in Health and Weight Loss
How many of you find exercise helps with stress or depression? I have had two years worth of the worst stress ever, with depression as a nice little side effect. I have noticed I feel better on the days I exercise and bummed on the days I don't. The trick is not getting side tracked by the bummed days. What helps keep you on track?

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Get a friend to go with you to have that extra nudge of accountability. Take a class you've wanted to, like how to mountain climb. ANYTHING that sounds good. Reward yourself for going somehow.

    For me, I have to make it easier to exercise than not exercise.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    When I got an injury and was sidelined for awhile, I most definitely was sad and depressed. Exercise is a great mood elevator.
  • kaydeedoubleu1
    kaydeedoubleu1 Posts: 567 Member
    I suffer from anxiety (in the past I have had horrible bouts of panic attacks etc) and often feel like things are spinning out of control and just want to hide away. I find when I exercise and eat healthy, it helps- really really helps. It makes me feel in control, in charge and capable. It gives me the strength and energy to take on the tasks which are causing me anxiety. What keeps me on track is knowing that it is as little as half an hour out of my day, and how much that half an hour helps. I try to remember how horrible I feel when I am living an unhealthy life, as opposed to healthy, and try to remember how powerful I feel when I am actually mid workout. I also like to give myself goals, such as burning x amount of calories per week or going to the gym x amount of times and then rewarding myself.

    There is so much evidence out there proving that a healthy diet and exercise can improve the symptoms of depression and anxiety, almost by up to 50%-
    Just try to remember that :)
    Good luck! I know how tough it can be!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    It definitely tones down my stress levels.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Works for me!
  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
    I too have found that exercise is indeed a mood booster....for me the best by far was walking......and you can make it as challenging as you want. For me the worst was engaging in hard cardio videos that actually increased my anxiety levels at the time.....different strokes for different folks.

    Tips for keeping up with regular exercise, my 2 cents would be in the hard times when you have the "can't be bothered's", just little things of putting out the gear I needed the night before helped, having the shoes etc sitting in a prominent place was reminder enough and I would make a deal with myself that I would walk for 1/2 hour and reassess how I was feeling....I always kept going, because by that time a lot of the negativity and malaise has fallen away.

    Sometimes though life and stuff does get in the way and you miss workouts...try to be as vigilant in maintaining your health both physical and emotional in other ways at these times. Have good sleep hygiene, get adequate nutrition and don't resort to eating your emotions with foods that just end up making you feel worse or sway your from health or weight goals, look after yourself in as many ways as possible through this period and you'll probably find that soon enough you will be straining at the bit to get back to working out.

    Another thins that has helped me too and this may help others....life changes, sometimes not for the better. I can no longer get out to walk....pretty much at all due to other health issues, so the big challenge for me was how to maintain some level of fitness as well as get the mood help of the walking without being able to do so.

    So I changed.....I started Yoga, Tai Chi, getting into lifting and stretching moves....just something that gives me some flexibility, strength and a mind boost. I'm pretty bad at all the moves and my lifting is not great but it is ME time....I kinda Zen out like I used too when I was out Bushwalking around 6-8 hours at a time....

    So I guess my message is be flexible about goals, being able to change if life throws you a curve ball.....just doing something physical and having time for yourself all helps.

    Best wishes.
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,246 Member
    I find that exercise most definitely reduces my stress level. The fact that my mood is better, and I feel more positive and energetic when I exercise, is normally enough to keep me doing it.

    In the past year I have incorporated yoga practice into my regular exercise rotation. I almost always do it first thing in the morning and that joyful practice will usually set the tone for my entire day on a positive note.
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
    Lots of validating comments here linking the benefits of exercise. I started a thread in January exploring Depression and Weightloss. Interesting discussion.
  • blossomingbutterfly
    blossomingbutterfly Posts: 743 Member
    I find exercise does nothing for my stress or anxiety levels. It does, however, help with my depression levels.
  • d3vilynn
    d3vilynn Posts: 10 Member
    kaydeedoubleu1 wrote: »
    I suffer from anxiety (in the past I have had horrible bouts of panic attacks etc) and often feel like things are spinning out of control and just want to hide away. I find when I exercise and eat healthy, it helps- really really helps. It makes me feel in control, in charge and capable. It gives me the strength and energy to take on the tasks which are causing me anxiety. What keeps me on track is knowing that it is as little as half an hour out of my day, and how much that half an hour helps. I try to remember how horrible I feel when I am living an unhealthy life, as opposed to healthy, and try to remember how powerful I feel when I am actually mid workout. I also like to give myself goals, such as burning x amount of calories per week or going to the gym x amount of times and then rewarding myself.

    There is so much evidence out there proving that a healthy diet and exercise can improve the symptoms of depression and anxiety, almost by up to 50%-
    Just try to remember that :)
    Good luck! I know how tough it can be!

    I have anxiety as well, and you are right, the feeling of being in charge helps. I hadn't even realized that. My diet still needs a lot of help, but with baby steps I am getting there. Glad to hear it has helped you. One of the reasons I joined this forum was to connect with like minded folks. Everyone's input helps a lot :)
  • leannraya
    leannraya Posts: 95 Member
    edited October 2015
    I have bad anxiety as well and I run my own business so I never stop working. However I have been making time for myself and taking my dogs walking (all 3 60lb dogs!) by myself everyday for about 25-40 minutes twice a day. I find it clears my head and gives them exercise too so it's a win win!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I force myself to go. Once I start, I'm fine. Exercise helps me with everything. For me, it's the magic bullet the supplement industry and Bug Pharma promise but never deliver.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Exercise is probably one of the most underrated anti depressants out there.

    :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited October 2015
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    Exercise is probably one of the most underrated anti depressants out there.

    :)

    Just wanted to let others know that studies back you up :)

    Exercise and Depression

    ...Is Exercise a Treatment for Clinical Depression?

    Research has shown that exercise is an effective but often underused treatment for mild to moderate depression.
  • bover145
    bover145 Posts: 119 Member

    Perhaps not a scientific source but to quote Legally Blonde on the impact of exercise on mood.


    Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    d3vilynn wrote: »
    How many of you find exercise helps with stress or depression? I have had two years worth of the worst stress ever, with depression as a nice little side effect. I have noticed I feel better on the days I exercise and bummed on the days I don't. The trick is not getting side tracked by the bummed days. What helps keep you on track?

    Yes exrcise does help with depression. It is actually recommended by psychiatrists when fighting with depression. And it is supposed to work even if you feel forced to do it and not enjoy it at all while you are exercising. Worst case, try to see it as medication: something you should do, even if you do not like it. It really does help.
  • kuroshii
    kuroshii Posts: 168 Member
    I haven't put together enough data to know whether individual sessions boost my mood on a given day other than the intellectual feeling of accomplishment, but I do know that when I'm exercising regularly my seasonal lows aren't as low.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    It makes a tremendous difference.
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