Exercise is not always fun. There are many benefits of regular exercise to those who have bipolar disorder. Exercise can also reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases. It can also strengthen your immune system.
Exercise is vital for people who have bipolar disorder and depressive disorder. My son has been suffering from a major bipolar disorder for more than ten years.
Today, bipolar disorders are a common problem in our society. Depression is a common disease also.
16 million adults and adolescents in the US have a major depressive episode each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Symptoms of depression vary for everyone, but usually include:
- poor concentration
- Great sadness
- Reality Misperception
- Anxiety
- change in appetite, Increase or decrease
- low self-esteem
- feelings of hopelessness
It is crucial when your loved one is sad and loses interest in the daily world that you seek a psychiatrist, medicine, and counseling. You must encourage lifestyle change.
Starting an exercise routine will give you a positive effect on mental health. We all know it’s easy to say but hard to do. When you are down, It’s difficult to do anything.
We all need to start with baby steps and one day at a time. Try our best to go to the gym and start with 30 min. If you can start with 15 min walk every day, you will see the difference.
You will notice that in one week, you will feel different and you feel the energy. You will notice a significant improvement in your health condition.
Here are some benefits of exercise for Bipolar disorder and Depressions
1. You Feel Stronger and More Confident
Starting a routine can change your mental perspective, but this is not the only thing that changes.
Exercise also causes physical changes in your body. The activity can help you to lose excess weight, develop muscle tone, improve your overall physical appearance and physical well being.
These changes in your body can have a powerful impact on your mental health. Improving your self-image helps you to feel stronger and more confident, and increases your self-esteem.
2. It takes your attention off your problems
If you have MDD, you may be obsessed with all the negative aspects of your life. Negative aspects of your life, including reflecting on the mistakes made yesterday and worrying about problems that may never occur.
Your brain can only concentrate on one thought at a time. If you feel depressed and need to refocus your thoughts, exercise can reverse a negative mood and distract your thoughts from your problems.
You feel relaxed and charged after your exercise.
3. It improves chemicals in your brain
Exercise is often called “natural antidepressant” because it reduces depression. When you do physical activity, your brain responds by increasing the production of endorphins.
Endorphins are chemicals in the brain that help reduce pain. They also cause a happier mood and help you deal with stress. The more exercises you do, the higher your endorphin level will be.
Regular physical activity can also stimulate the production of dopamine in the brain.
4. It improves your ability to cope with Anxiety
Daily physical activities also help with anxiety. Exercise triggers a physiological response similar to anxiety.
Anxiety can cause a high heart rate, sweating, and agitated breathing. Exercise induces an almost identical response. In that sense, regular exercise can teach your body to handle stressful situations.
If left unchecked, the response above caused by anxiety can trigger a panic attack. But when your body is aware of this kind of response as a result of regular physical activity.
Your body will begin to associate this response with safety and not with danger, according to the American Psychological Association. As a result, it becomes easier to remain calm during a stressful event.
How to Regular Exercise to improve MDD
Using exercise as a natural antidepressant doesn’t comprise hours of physical activity each day. It only takes a few minutes of activity to notice a difference in your mindset and approach.
If you haven’t exercised in a while, begin slowly to avoid injury. You can begin with 10 minutes a day and gradually scale it up to 30 to 60 minutes of activity each day. Effective exercises include jogging, biking, walking, swimming, aerobics, kayaking.
Here are a few modest tips to get moving with MDD
1. Break up workouts into 10-minute sessions
If you do not have time to train continuously for 30 minutes a day, train three times a day in 10-minute blocks.
Spend 10 minutes on an activity in the morning before work, walk for 10 minutes at lunch, and then train for 10 minutes after dinner.
2. Get an exercise buddy
Working with a friend or family member is effective because he becomes responsible for another person.
A training partner can motivate you to follow a normal routine. Together they can encourage each other.
3. Find fun activities
There is no rule that says you have to participate in an aerobics class to lose weight or improve your mental health. As long as you burn calories and be active, you are on the right track.
You may follow a training video, or if this is not attractive, spend your 30 minutes sweating in a fun activity. In this way, exercise does not feel like a task.
The takeaway on Exercise For Bipolar Disorder
Exercise can have a positive influence on your physical and mental health. Regardless of whether you are taking antidepressants or using any other MDD therapy, never minimize the importance of the regular physical activity. Talk to your doctor before you start a training routine.
