Self Love, Self Care, and Living In The Present

Exercizing

I know what you're thinking.
Exercise...I thought you meant extra fries!"
My apologies that was incorrect.

Exercising, despite the treachery of starting it, is genuinely a big part of self care. Not only do you FEEL better when you exercise, you also are taking care of your physical and mental health.

No, this is no substitute for the medication you may need, nor is it a substitute for a strong circle of friends, however it still helps.

Studies have proven that exercise can do the following for your mental health:

•Lowers chances of depression relapses

•Can be used as a stress-management tool

•helps release endorphins and monoamines (the chemicals in your brain that stimulate happiness)

•eases the feeling of anger and cynical distrust

•gives you the feeling of having a meaningful activity and a goal to work towards

If exercising isn't your forté, you can always just do yoga stretches. Although there is less of a physical change, you will increase your flexibility and the perks will be quite similar in the stance of Mental Health

Ways you could get into exercising:

•yoga. There is so many different forms of yoga you could do. Do a quick search on the computer to see what yoga classes are in your area, or youtube yoga stretches to do on your own!

•going on runs. If you cannot run, start with walking and gradually make your way up to running. Please pace yourself.

•going to the gym. I know, sounds intimidating. Express your interest to a sibling or a friend, and even ask "hey, would you be interested in going to the gym with me?" because having a workout buddy is always nicer than going alone.

•kick boxing and/or martial arts. Why not be active while also learning to defend yourself? This world kinda sucks and it's important to know how to protect yourself if a situation like that were to arise.

•skate boarding/long boarding/biking/ect... there's plenty of swap-and-buy sites on facebook, or even kijiji where you could buy one for a decently low price.

•sports!! Soccer, baseball, football, volleyball, ect... any sport really. You meet a close-knit group of people and you are staying active.

•swimming. There's lane swimming, swimming clubs, swimming in lakes and rivers, swimming at the pool with friends. Literally anything you'd like to do, it's available for you!

•exercises at home. Just youtube at-how workouts and exercises and an endless amount of tutorials will come up. And it's free!

•hiking

•animal walking. Both of you need some time in the outdoors anyways.

•feel free to add your own form of exercises and/or questions in the comments section

CAUTION: Please make sure you are eating an adequate amount of nutrition for your physical activity plans. Not eating can result in more harm done than good, and you could severely damage your body. If you need help in creating a relaxed meal plan to go off of, or even information on how much someone your sex/age/height/weight should be eating, feel free to send me a DM and I will help you as much as I can.

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Sources:
"The effects of exercise on oxidative stress (TBARS) and BDNF in severely depressed inpatient." Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. (2014).
"Major Depressive Disorder." mentalhealth.com. (2011).
"Exercise and Depression." health.harvard.edu. (2014).
"The effects of exercise on mood changes: the moderating effect of depressed mood." J Sports Med Physical Fitness. (2001).
"Effects of aerobic exercise on anxiety sensitivity." Behav Res Ther. (2004).
"Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress." mayoclinic.com. (2014).
"Effects of exercise on anxiety, depression and mood." Psychiatr Pols. (2004).
"Endorphins: Natural Pain and Stress Fighters." medicinenet.com. (2014).
"Function and pharmacology of monoamine neurotransmitters." ucl.ac.uk. (2014).
"Exercise Benefits Brain Function: The Monoamine Connection." Brain Sci. (2013).
"Physical exercise and psychological well-being: a population study in Finland.." Prev Med. (2000).
"The Exercise Effect."apa.org. (2014).
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