Find a sport you like. Exercising shouldn’t be a chore. Even playing pickleball with friends will get your heart and lungs working, and wont require any willpower.
A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
171–180 of 317 posts
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#172I don’t know if this has changed for younger generations, but a lot of people, particularly those in intellectual pursuits, suffer to one degree or another from thinking of themselves as a brain being carried around as a meat sack. We are learning more about mind body connections and this is very not true (the ways the vagus nerve can totally fuck with your mental state is terrifying, and there are people with dysfun…
> the ways the vagus nerve can totally fuck with your mental state is terrifying, and there are people with dysfunctions that are five times worse What are some examples of this?
vagus nerve stimulation for treatment resistant depression.
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I was trying to integrate a definition of “flow” that covered my many experiences, it wasn’t biking up hills per se, it was those moments where bad shit almost happened and I saw a way through and just did it. Riding through gravel, loose dogs, when the “fast guy” tried to drop the pack and found me on his wheel. I think I agree with you that these experiences are pivotal, because they are moments when you just…
This is what mountain biking does for me. It's not hard, and it's pretty safe, but maintaining decent speed while navigating trails... it's a flow state. Heck, a week ago I did a 100 mile MTB race, with the goal of finishing and being happy. While bits and pieces are there, some chatting with folks and things I saw along the trail, but I honestly do not remember most of the ~9 hours I was riding. It was just a thing…
It's the "flow", as with many other sports requiring very high levels of hand-eye coordination, whether climbing, martial arts, olympic weight lifting, fencing etc. You don't have time to see, mentally process, then do; instead you just think/feel and the body does, and somehow that is much faster than is possible by the physical measurement of electrical signals from your eye to your body.
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#174I'm on the unfortunate side of having panic disorder. Some exercise, like weightlifting can trigger panic attacks due to the sudden spike in adrenaline. Steady-state cardio is usually fine.
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#175> The benefits of exercise might not be immediate, says Singh, but they should show up within weeks or months. Beyond that, the longer people engaged in exercise, the less beneficial it became for their mental health. This may be because they were sticking to the program less, due to waning motivation or, perhaps, injury. It could also be because the exercise itself began to feel less novel and more repetitive.
Not mentioned here that I think should be considered is how much of the benefit was just due to _novelty_. If the effect wears off over time then at least part of it may be going out and doing something different.
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#176When I was less wise, I remember suggesting exercise to someone suffering from depression. Didn't go so well. You reach an unfortunate point when depressed that makes it difficult to listen to actually useful advice. It's an unfortunate state of mind to say the least.
You wouldn't dare call it pride, would you?
when i've been in that position, it was hopelessness not pride that made it hard to act on good advice
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another +1 here for that argument being distinctly not Judeo-Christian. Orthodox Christians in particular are of the belief that you worship with your whole self- mind, body and soul.
As a child of fundamental baptists, all of the circles I grew up in saw their bodies as temporary shells. They also saw their bodies as created by god, and thoughts/emotions as having metaphysical sources and consequences. Setting aside any specific doctrinal positions, the broader claims and beliefs of the church push one to think of themselves in some rather odd ways. If certain thoughts and feelings are temptation…
Ghosts in the shell if you will
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#178Do bad it's very boring.
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#179Do bad it's very boring.
Agreed
Re: A new study looks at how exercise can help alleviate anxiety and depression
#180I’ve had major clinical depression for the last 15 years or so. The first 4 months of this year was the lowest I’ve ever been. During that time though I was going to the gym 6 days a week doing weight lifting and then I would cycle 50km a day on top of that. All of it was on autopilot however, my depression just wouldn’t allow me to focus on anything but it. Luckily I had been building up the habit for years in advan…
I did pretty much the same during a longer dip. I guess it's a way of dealing with the always-on fight-or-flight mode, so you exercise way more than your body is able to recover from and only end up digging yourself further down.
Now that I am in a healthier state of mind, I find that exercise helps a lot more as long as I can do it in a healthy way.