Back in the Saddle: Benefits of Exercise on Mental Health

Starting over is always hard. Correction, it’s excruciatingly hard. However, there comes a time when it’s as necessary as breathing. That is currently where I am at. Having spent the week leading up to New Year’s day in the mountains hiking, it reminded me just how out of shape I have become. It isn’t because I don’t like exercising. Running and hiking are my all-time favorite ways to exercise. My broken body is not always a fan though.

Have you ever been in the groove? The one where you are exercising every day, losing weight, feeling amazing and full of boundless energy. I was in THAT groove about a year ago and then, as it always happens, I get hurt or sick and fall of the exercise wagon. What takes months and months to build up, appears to abandon you within a few weeks of not exercising and you (and your body) have to start the building up process all over again.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, there is never a day when I am without pain. It’s a living, breathing part of me. Someone who has chronic pain will often times downplay how much pain they are in or simply say, ‘It is what it is.” We don’t do this to diminish what we are going through but rather because there is no real way to define what such a high level of constant pain feels like to someone who doesn’t experience it. The image below explains it better than I ever could.

So now I am at a point of starting over. Again. It’s something I have done many times before. Two knee surgeries, two shoulders surgeries and many Fibro flare ups will do that to you. Time and time again, I’ve had to begin again. No matter how many times I fall off that wagon and no matter how high my pain level is, I will always get up and start over. Today was that day for me. It hurt. It hurt a lot, especially in my elbows (a Fibro pain point), but it also felt overwhelming good to be back in the saddle and exercising. Unfortunately, running is not an option at this point, but luckily for me, I have a Peloton bike (courtesy of my amazing brother) and login (from my equally amazing friend) that affords me the ability to do a multitude of different exercises from yoga to Pilates to weights or cycling.

There is nothing quite like a good sweat session on the bike and loud music blaring through your headphones to make you feel alive again. I know when I am exercising regularly, whether that be running, walking, lifting or cycling, I can handle anything life throws at me and my physical and mental anguish diminish. My doctors have even said, if it weren’t for the running and exercising, my body wouldn’t still be functioning as well as it does (for all the things wrong with it.) They have patients that have so much less going on than I do and they can’t even get up out of bed, let alone run half marathons.

Mental Health and Exercise

Let’s talk mental health. More specifically, mental health and exercise. The photo below discusses the benefits of exercise on various mental health disorders. Personally speaking, I suffer from 4 out of 5 of the ones listed below and have a couple extra on top of that. Yet, when I am exercising regularly, the struggles I have with each of these diminishes greatly.

As I am sure most of you know, exercise releases endorphins into your system, which are the body’s natural mood lifters. This article from Health.gov is a great read on the benefits of exercise for your mental health and overall well being. Below is an excerpt from the article:

Roughly half of all people in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder at some point in their lifetime, with anxiety and anxiety disorders being the most common. Major depression, another of the most common mental health disorders, is also a leading cause of disability for middle-aged adults. Compounding all of this, mental health disorders like depression and anxiety can affect people’s ability to take part in health-promoting behaviors, including physical activity. In addition, physical health problems can contribute to mental health problems and make it harder for people to get treatment for mental health disorders.

The good news is that even small amounts of physical activity can immediately reduce symptoms of anxiety in adults and older adults. Depression has also shown to be responsive to physical activity. Research suggests that increased physical activity, of any kind, can improve depression symptoms experienced by people across the lifespan. Engaging in regular physical activity has also been shown to reduce the risk of developing depression in children and adults.

There is Still Hope

I am fairly certain that at some point, I will be disabled, walking with a cane 100% of the time (I have to use it now on occasion) or worse, but until that day comes, I am never going to stop trying to postpone the inevitable.

Taking care of your health, physical and mental, is the most important thing you can do. Don’t be afraid of the suck as they say. It’s going to suck; it’s going to hurt; it’s going to feel impossible. But I’m hear to tell you, it can be done. One step at a time, day after day, until it becomes a habit and you find yourself in such a great place that you can take on anything that life throws your way.

Share what works for you. What form of exercise are you passionate about? What do you do to take care of your health, mentally and physically? Is it running? Or possibly walking? Kickboxing? Yoga? Options are endless so find the one that you love and get your butt up and get moving!