By David Freeze
I read the other day that statistically there is more documented depression now than ever before. While I’m sure that comfort and the better things in life are more abundant than ever, it takes more than that to be happy with oneself. I don’t have a related degree, but I do have training and years of experience working with people who have a common thread running between them. They say, “I want to feel better about myself. How can you help me?”
With that said, I often hear from people who spend at least 30 minutes a day exercising and then report a positive feeling that lasts all day. One of my best friends called exercise “the best mental therapy that money doesn’t have to buy” and she is absolutely right!
While I start my day very early most mornings with a run of at least 45 minutes and five or more miles, I know that the resulting feeling is unbeatable. But my personal training clients and group class participants began to experience the same feeling when they go out and raise the heart rate for even as little as 20 minutes. While slightly more is better, just that simple beginning gets the ball rolling.
I certainly don’t mean that you must run to have the mental benefits. Just begin by going for a walk at a comfortable distance. Not a very slow stroll, but one that makes your heart beat faster and challenges your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Pump your arms! In other words, raising your heart rate and number of respirations is the key to starting the “good feeling”.
As an example, that first day’s walk might be a quarter mile, or it might be just up and down the driveway a few times. Do what you can do. No matter the age, I am convinced that you can feel better by exercise. The next day, add more and keep doing it again almost daily. Find the challenging distance and pace, meaning that you aren’t overdoing the effort but pushing yourself just enough to do more than you thought possible.
Years ago, I was gaining weight around my middle and found that I didn’t like it. I didn’t consider anything other than the fact that I needed to exercise more. I did plenty of walking at work and a good bit of lifting, but that kind of exercise was not sustained. I began to run just about every day and it didn’t take long to find that I loved the post-exercise feeling. I began to look forward to more of that post-exercise feeling as much as I did the actual exercise and other positive results.
At that time, my runs were done in the evening. I had a young family at home and worked in Charlotte and the evening was a better time. Just 30 minutes of exercise began to leave me with a confident, yet relaxed euphoria until bedtime. My sleep came easier because my mind was relaxed and happy.
Shortly afterwards, I craved the exercise so much that found a way to do it almost every day at lunchtime in Charlotte. I floated through the afternoons with easy problem solving because of increased mental focus and the lingering confidence.
About six months into my exercise program, I shifted to mornings as often as possible. I wanted that confidence and top of the world feeling to begin early and last all day. My overall health continued to improve, and the excess weight disappeared.
On the unusual day that I couldn’t at least go for a long walk, I missed something and felt off. To this day, 40 years later, nothing about that has changed. Even serious life trials are helped by the result of regular exercise.
Bottom line, give it a shot. If you feel depressed or even just a little off, go for a walk, a run, find an exercise class that you like or just follow an aerobics program on TV. Let me know if you don’t find the same result I did. Kick that depression out the door and enjoy the health benefits!
