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Taking Exercise to Help Anxiety.
Remember to check with your doctor before starting an exercise programme. (Anxiety)
As well as daily relaxation, you will need to take exercise as part of your recovery programme – but the good news is, you won’t have to run a marathon! Exercise is helpful in several ways:
It helps burn off muscle tension.
It helps healthy breathing.
It produces beneficial chemicals in your brain.
It helps convince you that your body is strong enough to cope with your Anxiety symptoms.
The most useful kind of exercise is aerobic exercise – that is, something that gets you out of breath.
You need to do it for at least 20 minutes before the chemicals are released. This means that you get most benefit from taking exercise three times a week for at least 20 minutes each time.
Many Anxiety sufferers lose the habit of taking exercise, and some become extremely inactive. Some forms of Anxiety, such as compulsive behaviours, are very time consuming, and other types of Anxiety can
leave the sufferer feeling too exhausted to contemplate taking exercise. This is a vicious circle, because the less you use your body, the less you feel like using it.
And your body was designed to be used – this means doing exercise that is appropriate for each individual. Even people with physical health problems can usually find a type of exercise that is within their capacity – your doctor should be able to advise you about this. Many forms of exercise are taken outdoors, in the fresh air and in natural surroundings, and there is some evidence that this is good for our mental health (but see below for exercise tips for housebound people).
Set your sights as low as you need to. If you have been spending all your time in the armchair, locked into Anxiety, then start by walking about the room a little at regular intervals. Or if you are active but don’t take exercise, start with something gentle like a walk in a park. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to reach the 20 minutes three times a week target – just make a start.
