A very common suggestion to help with depression is to start exercising. While this suggestion is definitely valid and useful. People don’t always understand why exercise would help them and don’t know how much they need to do. People can be intimidated when they hear “exercise every day” and have images in their head of working out at the gym every day for hours, and instead of doing what they can, they don’t even start because they feel like they can’t fully commit. . The good news is that even small amounts of exercise can help with anxiety and depression.
The benefits of exercise are definitely not a secret. It helps lower blood pressure, prevents diabetes, obesity, and improves overall health. Beyond the physical health benefits, it’s becoming increasingly clear that exercise helps with mental health issues, as well as anxiety and depression. There are several reasons for this positive effect of exercise.
The first reason is that exercise causes the body to release a chemical called endorphins. This chemical is known to cause a feeling of happiness and well-being. After exercising for at least 30 minutes, many people report feeling exceptionally good about life; in fact, this is so common that it has come to be known as having an “Endorphin High.” This feeling can often set off a chain reaction throughout the day that makes you exponentially better off due to your better outlook caused by just 30 minutes of exercise.
Surprisingly, anxiety is often caused by low self-esteem. People start to feel bad about themselves and then eventually start to think that they are not worthy of other people’s affections, or that they are so bad that something terrible is going to happen to them. It is indisputable that exercise can and almost certainly will improve your self-esteem. This is for several reasons. The first is that exercise will help you lose weight and feel better about yourself because of the weight loss. It also provides a sense of accomplishment every time someone exercises. You gave yourself to exercise, which is not always the easiest or the most fun, and you achieved your goal. This makes people feel good about themselves. Finally the exercises improve self-esteem because it places you in an exclusive club that is universally respected. Everyone understands the benefits of exercise and everyone knows they should exercise, but obviously not everyone exercises.
The third reason that exercise can help with anxiety is that it is a social activity. Isolation breeds depression and anxiety. When you exercise you are surrounded by other people. Even if you don’t actually talk to or interact with other people, simply being around them will benefit you and help reduce your anxiety.
If anxiety is a problem you are currently dealing with, I encourage you to start exercising today. Don’t be ashamed to start small. If you’ve tried jumping in with both feet before and failed, you really need to start small. Start with two minutes of exercise per day. Just take a simple walk around the block every night. Are you sure that’s something you can do? After doing that for a week, slowly increase to three minutes. Over time, you’ll get into the habit of exercising and feel weird if you don’t. Eventually work up to 30 minutes of exercise per day.
