Shore Therapy

Mental health & Exercise – how do they interact?

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We are officially into spring and as the weather warms up it is a perfect time to be heading outside and doing some exercise – but what’s the point?

While there are a myriad of physical health benefits related to exercising, there are also many mental health benefits too. From lifting your mood to reducing symptoms and health risks, exercise is great for your entire wellbeing.

Exercise will often cause our body to release chemicals called endorphins – these are what cause us to feel good after we have been exercising. They are released into the blood stream both while we exercise and afterward and it is believed that this can enhance our mood for up to 12 hours from just 20 minutes of exercise (1). Endorphins interact with our pain receptors so when these are released our perception of pain can be diminished. Neurologically – endorphins bind to the same receptors as what several pain medications bind to. The result is experiencing less pain, which in turn can put us in a better mood. Blood supply also increases while we are exercising – that is why we sometimes notice our faces becoming rosy during activity. The same thing happens to the brain, this improves the oxygenation of the tissues which then helps our neuronal activity (2). Increasing the activity of the brain in this manner can then strengthen those positive pathways in the brain, meaning they are easier to use. Having those positive thought pathways strong could mean that they are used more frequently – perhaps regulating our mood easier.

Exercise is often a good stress-relieving technique. Many people in high stress lives will make sure that they have included exercise in their routines as it often can help them focus and become more clear headed. By focusing on exercise for short periods of time, we are having a break from the sometimes constant stresses of life. Often, exercising will give us a boost of energy so it means when we return back to our daily tasks we are more capable and ready to face our tasks head on.

It is thought that regular exercise can help to reduce the likelihood of depression, and many mental health professionals will include exercise in their treatment plans for their clients. Certain types of exercise are thought to improve our cognitive function which is believed to help prevent the onset of some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and Dementia. These types of exercise include things like dancing which uses both sides of the brain and includes some cognitive thought as well as using the body physically (3).

Self-esteem can be improved with regular exercise – not only do we feel more positive when we exercise but we can feel better about ourselves. Naturally, when we continue to exercise we will notice that we are becoming stronger, fitter, more capable of certain activities. This all helps build self-esteem so can help with issues like anxiety and depression. In this way, exercise can also give us a sense of control over our lives. It is a perfect example of being able to see progress when work and effort is put into certain tasks. Many exercise regimes have small achievable goals to work toward but which are manageable and can be regularly met. In this way, this can teach us how to apply goal setting to other aspects of our lives.

We know that exercise helps us physically, but this in itself can help with our mental state. If we are constantly in pain or have a continuing ailment it can cause a lot of negative thoughts and feelings to arise. If exercise can help these physical issues, it then follows that our mental health can be aided just by feeling better physically.

There is a world of different forms of exercise available – not all of which have to cost a huge amount of money. Northland and Auckland have some of the best walking tracks through forests, mountains and urban settings which are easy to access and available to use when suits you and your schedule. There are plenty of outdoor parks which are great to work out in. Northland and Auckland also has a wide range of gyms, personal trainers and bootcamps that can be signed up to as well as yoga, Pilates, dance classes etc.. that you can also become involved in. Northland has a great run/walk series which includes walks/runs of varying lengths around the region spaced at intervals throughout the year – this is a great way to get not only you but your entire family involved in getting out and about and improving overall wellbeing.

It is thought that the length or type of exercise that you do is not as important as frequency. Exercising in any form several times per week and including this in your weekly routines is thought to be the most beneficial. So gather the family, get them on board and get out there. Find an exercise type that you enjoy doing and implement it into your life. Place as much importance on exercise as you would on sleep, food, social interaction and work. Use exercise not only to improve physical health but as great wellbeing and mental health techniques too.

 

1https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/physical-activity/physical-activity-mental-health/

2(https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/why-exercise-is-so-essential-mental-health

3 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170825124902.htm

 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

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post traumatic stress disorderPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder is often characterised as the development of a long-lasting anxiety response following a traumatic event. Usually, those described as having PTSD have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event that threatens death, serious injury, or loss of personal integrity to themselves or another. Sometimes, you can develop PTSD from learning about a traumatic event that has happened to a loved one, this can be known as vicarious trauma.

Traumatic events that can trigger the occurrence of PTSD are; violent assault – such as physical/sexual abuse, mugging, kidnapping, being taken hostage, war, terrorist attacks, severe car accidents, natural disasters – such as hurricane, tsunami, volcano eruption, earthquakes and flooding, man-made disasters – such as explosions, fire, and chemical spills, life-threatening illnesses, or unexpected death or injury of a loved one or another person.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder usually develops between three to six months of the traumatic event and can be characterised by the following experiences:

  • Flashbacks of the event – such as dreams, images or reliving the event over and over.
  • Night terrors – really disturbed sleep and horrific nightmares often waking the person in fits of terror can be often.
  • Adversity to any object/place/person/activity that can act as a reminder to the event.
  • Any time the person is in contact with an object/place/person/activity that is a reminder of the event, it is followed or accompanied with an intense anxiety response. Panic attacks can be common.
  • Often people find it really difficult to remember specific fact or aspects of the traumatic situation.
  • Memory and concentration difficulties also become apparent.
  • Regularly, irritability or depressed mood is noticeable.
  • The outside world and people can become a very scary place, so isolation and social withdrawal are also common.
  • Hypervigilance and being startled easily can be an indicator to trauma.

Treatment:

Effective treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can involve systematically confronting the experiences, memories and situations that are associated with the traumatic event. It can often be a scary experience, but processing through the thoughts and feelings linked to the event in a healthy way can have an amazing effect on quality of life. PTSD untreated, can be a hugely isolating and debilitating disorder that can affect how you function and experience the world.

As with most therapy, a huge part of the effectiveness of this work is the development of trust and safety between you and your therapist. This kind of work relies on the trust you have with your therapist to help keep you safe while unpacking scary and painful experiences.

If you would like to discuss Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or require more information, please contact a mental health professional or us here at Shore Therapy.

What is a panic attack

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What is a Panic Attack?
Panic Attacks
When we are exposed to a physical threat our bodies have an automatic response to help defend ourselves and escape a threatening situation. This response is known as the fight/flight/freeze response, which activates our central nervous system and our bodies become more attuned to our environment. Often we become more alert, our heart rate speeds up, muscles become tense and ready for action, sweating increases to cool the body and our breathing rate increases so that we can get oxygen into our bodies faster. With all of these changes happening at once, we are able to run very quickly from our attackers (flight), fight our ‘enemies’ (fight) or remain hidden so as not to be seen (freeze).

How Does a Panic Attack Cause Problems?

In today’s society we are rarely exposed to any real physical threat. Instead, most of the threats we do experience are psychological or mental. It does not help to fight physically or run away when dealing with these situations. Unfortunately though, the fight/flight/freeze response still gets turned on. We may have the increased breathing rate which serves no real purpose and actually causes problems for some people. This tends to lead to hyperventilation or over-breathing, this can cause dizziness, breathlessness and chest pains.

It is important to realise that these feelings are all part of a physical response to threat and are not a sign that you have some physical disease. These symptoms do not mean that you will die, go crazy, or lose control.

What Do I Do Next?

It is very likely that you will be more able to manage your panic attacks in the future if:

  • You learn how to relax and manage your stress effectively
  • You try to notice your anxiety or stress before a panic attack occurs, increase your awareness of your warning signs
  • You remember to use breathing exercises when you become anxious.

Hunt, C.J., Andrews, G. & Sumich, H.J. (1995).

If you would like more information regarding panic attacks or would like to book in an appointment with a team member at Shore Therapy please click here.