We all face hard circumstances from time to time. Sometimes life throws us new responsibilities or burdens, and expects us to just roll with the punches. That can be quite difficult, especially when you’re already managing a mental illness. The good news is that we can have a plan when those unexpected hard times come up. Here are some recommendations for a mental health workout plan when you need help to weather hard times.

About the Mind Body Connection

Many of us now know that themind and body are inextricably linked. One does not function well without the other. Emotions and stressful circumstances affect your body as well as your mind. This connection has been well documented in research, and is the reason why manyproviders, like myself, incorporate a holistic approach to mental health treatment. The mind-body connection continues to gain more recognition in the medical community, which will help this understanding gain more mainstream recognition over time.

Start With an Opening Stretch

One of the best things that you can do for yourself in the morning is to stretch out, even before you officially start your day. When you struggle withdepressionor a mental health condition that leaves you feeling fatigued, it can be hard to undertake even the smallest of steps towards self-care like getting out of bed or taking a shower. When you stretch, even for as little as ten minutes, you helpawaken your system and muscles and improve blood circulation.

Stretching will also help you feel more alive, limber, and capable. And if you deal with ongoing physical aches and pains, which can often exacerbate depression, then stretching is going to help alleviate some of that discomfort. As you might imagine this can go a long way in helping you feel better in the moment. That moment may be the inspiration you need to make better choices to take care of yourself throughout the rest of the day. Try theseenergising stretchesto get your blood moving and help redirect your energy.

Take a Few Minutes to Breathe

If you’re often feeling anxious or keyed up, you can also incorporate some mindful breathing into your mental health workout plan. Deep diaphragmatic breathing has been shown toreduce stress and help induce relaxation. This practice helps engage the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for your calm physiological state.

By intentionally practicing mindful breathing, you can help direct your body to relaxation. As a bonus, mindful breathing will also help increase your immune system response, making you less susceptible to illness. You can usethis practicefor 10-20 minutes per day as a part of your workout, or as a stand-alone way to address anxiety.

Throw Around Some Barbells

While most of us are familiar with thebenefits of yogaand running for mental health symptom management, there is emerging research in the realm of resistance training (or weight-lifting). Lifting weights has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing anxiety in those living with mental illness (and non-diagnosed folks too).

At this point in your mental health work out, drop in a few reps of bicep curls or over-the-head arm presses, which will help engage your core and practice diaphragmatic breathing. The exertion will change hormone production resulting in therelease or production of “feel good” chemicals. The research indicates thatit doesn’t matter much what specific resistance exercises you do, so if barbells aren’t your thing, try other weightlifting exercises to better manage your mood.

Finish Like a Superhero

Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.

Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.

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