Hello Everyone

I hope everyone is well

I have written recently about going through a significant wave of anxiety throughout March, for which I am now still in recovery for. I am at the moment working on improving my coping techniques, as well as looking at new ways to reduce anxiety overall for myself.  I decided to take the approach of treat the condition not just the symptoms.  It’s been a long while since I changed up the overall management of my anxiety disorder.

Whilst working and learning new approaches, I’ve also been looking at what still works. For me, one of the best approaches to managing my anxiety is exercise. It is both a quick fix as well as a great tool to deal with the long-term management of anxiety.

There have been a number of instances of late, where going out for exercise either outdoors or at the gym is what I’ve had to do to settle myself.  I’ve also been changing both my hours of work and the times I exercise to use my workouts efficiently to manage my anxiety when is at its worse, and also prioritising more time in the evenings for relaxation and rest, both of which are critical for mental and physical health.

Exercise releases positive endorphins and can also make us feel really good both during and afterwards.  It can ease low mood. For me it has the great impact in both the short term of giving me a boost as well longer term effects. The last few weeks, exercise really has been able to keep me going. I think it has been the single biggest factor in preventing me shutting down completely.

But I do want to be clear – when it comes to mental health, there is not one size fits all approach.  Exercise is great for our overall health, yes; but its not the answer for everyone in dealing with mental ill health.

Exercise is not the only thing that I do to manage my mental health, but right now its one thing that is really working.

My recovery and new approaches are ongoing. I’m focusing on the treatment of the condition, so there is no quick fix. But I am determined to keep going.