Chronic Illness Anxiety May Benefit from Exercise
February 26th, 2010
Physical activity is often recommended for people with a wide range of psychological concerns, though precise regimens and concerns still leave a great amount of research to be completed in the area. A team form the University of Georgia at Athens has made a positive step forward by recently publishing the results of a study examining the effects of moderate exercise on people experiencing anxiety over a recurring illness. The study found that over a period of four months, participants experienced an average of twenty percent improvement of their anxiety-related thoughts and feelings as compared to their concerns at the beginning of the research. The exercise was fairly light and may help professionals recommend more precise regimens for their clients.
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nothing that a little good old fashioned exercise can’t help out with- it may not make you one hundred percent better but it is always gonna at least make you feel better
A good body helps in keeping a good mental health too…the two are inter-related and these new finding concrete the idea about that. Now all that is required is good awareness in the general populace to make this practice a common thing for people suffering from psychological concerns.
I just finished up my own Saturday morning long run and for as much as I have to talk myself into doing it early on a Saturday morning that is what makes my weekend great. It helps me to release all of the negativity of the week that I have been holding inside and it offers me a clean slate to start a new weekend off right. I can very easily see how therapists would recommend running or some other form of exercise to theri patiemts. Sometimes it is therapy for me like nothing else ever will be. And there must be many others who feel exactly the same way otherwise it would not be getting the push from the mental health field that it now is.
A good fitness regime ensures sufficient supply of oxygen to all parts of the body, and especially so for the brain, which requires 40% of all the oxygen that our body needs…this sufficient supply of oxygen will ensure that our brain and related parts work in top-notch condition and hence that may be why exercising is helpful…
Being out in the fresh air plays a big part in that. I used to exercise and don’t as much as I should anymore. You feel the difference, no doubt about that.
My father had a heart attack. He joined a male support group of heart attack survivors. It was the best thing he ever did. They went for weekly “walks and talks”, just strolling and chatting. Apart from the exercise, I’m convinced that being able to talk outside of the family helped him. He always returned in a calmer frame of mind.
Even just getting out of the chair and doing something is beneficial. If it takes your mind off your anxiety, it’s a good thing. Not just sitting around dwelling on your heart attack helps.
It is great to know that exercise is beneficial not only to our body physically but also psychologically and to our mind…gives all of us more reason to concentrate on our fitness regime :)
This kind of therapy may be like a runner’s high you know? You know how you get that rush after exercising for a while? This would have to be beneficial for someone feeling stressed and anxious, especially to get that feeling with nothing more than a little exercise instead of always relying on some prescription drug to make you feel better. Not everyone is going to want to make that commitment to get in with the physical actibvity but I think that the people who do are really going to like the results that they see.
Exercise not only benefits the body but also boosts the confidence of a person and strengthens him/her mentally, giving a feel-good factor to the person…the person will then be more self-confident as well as have a nice feeling to it rather than stay gloomy.
exercise will definitely help an individual to get his mind off the problem or issue that is actually causing him the anxiety or depression…it also has other benefits to a person like the physical benefit, etcetra…
The hardest thing about exercise is working up the motivation, especially after a heart attack. You’re scared to breathe, never mind exercise, in case you bring on another one.
if people are not too sure about exercising or are too scared, as pointed out by the person above, then they can take advice from their doctor and then start incorporating exercise into their routine slowly, thereby increasing it every other day.
Have there been any studies that have shown that exercise will prolong life even in the face of a chronic or terminal illness?
Being scared of another one is understandable, Jim. However, avoiding mild exercise won’t help you speed your recovery. Always trust in your doctor’s judgment of when you’re ready to do so. They wouldn’t advise it if they had any qualms about you doing so.
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