Exercise Equals Elation
Posted by pansywade
Did you know that exercising can help elevate your mood? A new study suggests that only five minutes of exercise performed in a natural setting can improve mood and personal well-being. Abundant scientific evidence shows that activity in natural areas decreases the risk of mental illness (i.e. depression or anxiety) and improves the sense of well-being. “Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviors. For patients with anxiety disorders, exercise reduces their fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing.” says Jasper Smits, Director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, TX.
Many therapists, myself included, utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a method to work many symptoms of depression, anxiety, and in anger management. At times, it works really well but there are times when that method may not be effective in treatment. Therefore, adding a little outdoor exercising or activities as a supplement can have a positive effect on healing.
Examples of a natural exercise environment include exercise in a park, working in a backyard garden, or hiking on a nature trail. Basically, anything that active and can get the patient off of the sofa. “Exercise has been shown to have tremendous benefits for mental health; also it can supplement traditional treatments, helping patients become more focused and engaged.” says Jasper Smits
By combining the CBT treatment and exercising together, the client can receive the benefits of mental freedom and emotional elation from the feelings of stress, anxiety and anger. Throughout treatment, both the client and the therapist must be willing to do whatever it takes to obtain the primary objective of healing and recovery. Let’s work together to achieve your goals…
~pansy wade, lpc, ncc
Tags: antidepressant, anxiety, CBT, cognitive, depression, exercise, positive, stress
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 3:27 AM and is filed under Article Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.