How Aerobic Exercise Helps Fight Anxiety and Depression

© Copyright 2010 Patrice Walker All rights reserved

Genetic Roots of Anxiety

I've written a lot about how important it is to manage your thinking (link) as one way to stay in vibrational alignment with well-being in general and prosperity in particular. But for me, no matter how much I try to stay positive mentally, there are times when it feels like it is absolutely impossible to do.

I tend to be anxiety-prone and worry a lot. I don't know why. It could very well be genetic because my mom suffered from anxiety, too. On the other hand, being raised by a primary caregiver who was a constant worrier may have taught me to be a worrier as well. Whatever the cause, although it's not as huge a problem as it used to be, it is definitely something that I am aware of and try my best to manage.

The easiest anxiety (and depression) therapy that I've found is aerobic exercise. In the hub I wrote about staying young after 60, one of the factors I mentioned that helps me stay young is listening to my body and taking appropriate action when necessary. I know when I need to exercise because anxiety becomes more intense (i.e., I find more things to worry about), my mood plummets, and my tailbone starts feeling numb from sitting for long periods of time, something I've dubbed "Numb Butt Syndrome" or NBS. These are all sure signs that let me know I need to get up and go for a walk. But as I've said, there are times when I just don't feel like it and simply refuse to do what I know would help.

This desire to remain immobile may very well be yet another symptom of anxiety or mild depression, and when I make the effort to get up, put on my tennis shoes, and go for a walk, I'm happy I did and vow to walk on a regular basis because it helps so much.

It recently dawned on me during one of my walks after a period of fairly intense anxiety that, when the body perceives a threat, whether the threat is real or imagined, the "fight or flight" response kicks in. When this happens:

• Adrenalin, noradrenaline, cortisol and other chemicals flood into the bloodstream, and
• The muscles receive an influx of blood to help them either confront and fight the perceived threat or run away from it.

A lot more goes on, but you get the picture. If no action is taken and the perceived threat persists or occurs on a regular basis, a state of chronic anxiety sets in, and we suffer tremendously as a result.

Exercise, and specifically aerobic exercise that increases oxygen levels in the body, is a natural, non-prescription-drug way to deal with anxiety because it fools the body into thinking it is either fighting or fleeing.

During exercise, your body engages in intense activity that puts those chemicals and increase blood flow to good use. Your body in general, and your brain in particular, receive a high dose of oxygen which helps reduce tension in the body and muscles, making you feel a lot more relaxed and calm.

We've all heard of the "runners or jogger's high," a mental state of well-being that many joggers report experiencing. This state is brought on my the release of endorphins which, in addition to making you feel good, also help to reduce physical pain.

Aerobic exercise also helps you lose weight which goes a long way towards improving your self-image, gives your mind something else to think about other than your worries while you're engaged in it, and makes you feel like you are moving forward and getting something accomplished rather than standing still and going nowhere.

Finally, when I walk on a regular basis, I am able to get a good night's sleep. But when I don't, my mind goes crazy as I toss and turn in bed, worrying about all the awful things that "could" happen to me, a sure-fire way to kick the fight or flight response into high gear.

Exercise has the effect of dissipating all of this mental activity so that it's not only a lot easier to fall asleep and stay asleep, it's also a lot easier to think clearly and maintain that positive mindset that is so essential to being in vibrational alignment with well-being.

Each and every time I get off my butt and go walking (my favorite form of aerobic exercise), I feel so much better afterward. Even though you don't have to exercise every day, the key is to exercise on a regular basis. the only way I've found to do that is to engage in an exercise II enjoy, which for me is walking in nature.

My two favorite spots to walk are through the Ho'omaluhia (Hawaiian for "to make a place of peace and tranquility") Botanical Garden and the beach along Kailua Bay, both on the windward on eastern side of O'ahu.

The effects of aerobic exercise are long-lasting, so you really don't have to exercise every day to enjoy them. Three times a week, for about 30 to 45 minutes is sufficient, although some experts believe that as little as five minutes at a time of sweat-inducing exercise can reduce anxiety symptoms. For example, if you feel a bout of anxiety coming on, do 25 jumping jacks or sit ups or push ups. This works great for those who have a busy schedule that doesn't allow them a 40-minute time slot in which to exercise.

I really have no excuse not to walk in the beautiful spots that the island of O'ahu offers, so I'm (again) making a promise to myself to walk on a regular basis from now on.

(Note: If anxiety and/or depression are real problems for you, then you'll probably want to see your health care provider to get some help.)