Motion is a robust instrument for improving psychological well being. However changing into overly reliant on train for psychological well being help can backfire.
“Train is nice and does many issues on your physique, however you don’t need that to be the one arrow in your quiver,” says integrative psychiatrist Henry Emmons, MD, creator of The Chemistry of Pleasure.
If train is your solely instrument for managing psychological well being, your relationship with motion can change into inflexible and unhealthy. As an alternative of train giving us extra freedom and adaptability, we will get compulsive about it, Emmons says.
Chances are you’ll be satisfied that you need to train to really feel good — such that lacking a exercise causes your temper to plummet, bringing emotions of disgrace and disappointment. You then’re susceptible to relapse in case you change into sick, injured, or in any other case unable to work out for a protracted interval.
Discovering different technique of dealing with stress and unfavourable ideas or behaviors is necessary for sustaining your psychological well being. “It’s a good suggestion to have a big selection of instruments and never depend on only one,” Emmons says.
Fortunately, there are various choices. You can mix motion with varied psychological well being therapies, together with speak remedy, remedy, and help teams.
