Exercise: The Overlooked key to Mental-Wellbeing
By Keenan Mussie
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a pessimist, but it seems like every time I look up, there’s something that upsets me, frustrates me, or gives me anxiety. Life can be unpredictable and unless we find some way to adapt it may take us under. These factors can have a negative effect on our mental, physical, and emotional health. I do love the United States but there are a lot of moving pieces here and it can get damn overwhelming trying to make sense of it all. Ok, friends, enough complaining. Let’s talk solutions! I’m not talking about a panacea here, although those are for sale in droves, too! As Mick in Rocky III would say, “Let’s get some good old-fashioned blood, sweat and tears going, here Rock!” I’m talking about exercise.
If you’re an adult, remember when you were young? You used to run around outside all day or maybe you played sports, and exercise was an everyday thing. But as we get older, life takes over and we begin to slow down and become less active. But don’t fret, there’s no rule that says we have to become couch potatoes as we get older. In order to live long, happy, and healthy lives we must learn ways to manage these stressors as they arise, and exercise is a useful tool to help us along the way.
When I communicate with my reader, I like to give them the proper respect and get into some concrete facts and statistics so they can really dig into what I’m trying to convey to them, so check this: In the United States today, more than one in five adults live with a mental illness. This number has increased 2.9% over the last 20 years from 17.7% in 2008 to 20.6% in 2019. In children, the statistics are just as alarming. Nearly 20% of children and young people ages 3-17 in the United States have a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder, and suicidal behaviors among high school students increased more than 40% in the decade before 2019. (Child and adolescent Mental Health, National Library of Medicine, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, Oct. 2022). The leading cause of death and disability in this age group were related to mental health issues. And as you can imagine, the COVID 19 pandemic made things even worse. Many Americans experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness, economic instability, and grief and loss stemming from the pandemic which resulted in an increase in suicidal thoughts (nearly 1 in 4 young adults ages 18-24 reported having seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days in a survey conducted in mid 2020) and increased substance use. These factors contributed to increased strain on the health care system and its employees.
If you’re a parent of a child with mental health issues, this is terrible news. Or even if you know someone with a mental illness it is equally disheartening. However, this is great news for big pharma. The mental health industry is big business, raking in $407.1 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $573 billion by 2033. So, this begs the question, “What do we do about this problem?” Is the answer, prescribe more medication? Or is there another solution? Speaking as a person with a mental health condition, I can say that there is no one way to treat a mental illness. A holistic approach must be taken; which may consist of medication, counseling therapies, and diet and exercise modification.
In 2007, I exited the Armed Services with a medical discharge under honorable conditions. During the last four years of my enlistment, I had lost faith in myself and my abilities after I lost my certification as a search and rescue swimmer. I felt all my hard work had been for nothing, so I became resentful and didn’t give the effort that was needed and required as a United States Sailor. There was an opportunity for me to repeat my training, but I could not rise to that challenge at the time. That is still something I regret til this day. I ended up being diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar depression. After leaving the Navy, I drove my 2001 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck cross-country from Norfolk, VA to Denver, Colorado to visit a friend. After a short stay in Denver, I continued my trip back to my hometown of Puyallup, WA. Needing to get a civilian job and a place to stay, my parents took me in for a short while until I got a place of my own. During this time, I was getting treatment for my mental health condition through the VA and soon enrolled in community college and got a part-time job. It may have not been the best idea to return home because I started hanging around old friends and old habits do die hard. Partying and drinking was standard stuff for my friends and I at the time, and drinking worsened my condition; so much so that I ended up serving a month in jail for a fight I got into at a local club. Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase...Still today, I am dealing with a mental health problem. I am now 44 and have a clearer picture of what I need to do in order for me to be ok. I know I can’t speak for everyone because everyone’s situation is different, but I can tell you what works for me and maybe it can work for you or someone you know.
For me, there has been a combination of things that have helped me with my mental health situation. Those things being: medication, family support, personal development, limiting alcohol, nutrition and exercise. I know this blog was supposed to be about the benefits of exercise on mental health, but I wanted to approach this with an open mind, and one size definitely does not fit all. So, I’ll be your biracial Dr. Phil/scientist for a spell.
Studies have shown that even moderate physical activity can have a tremendous effect on managing mental health symptoms as well as an increase in overall physical well-being. Aerobic exercises like jogging, cycling, swimming, and dancing have been proven to reduce depression and anxiety. These improvements in mood are believed to be caused by an exercise-induced increase in blood flow to the brain, which has a positive effect on the physiologic reactivity to stress. The communication of the hypothalamic-pituitary –adrenal axis (HPA), (which is a key part of the stress response system), with the limbic system (which helps regulate your emotions and behavior), as well as the amygdala which generates fear in response to stress; and the hippocampus, which plays an important role in memory formation as well as in mood and motivation. (you don’t have to remember all these). (Exercise for Mental Health, National Library of Medicine, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, Sharm, A., et.al 2006) So, when you exercise, this perfect storm of chemical reactions and electrical signals create an overall feeling of “hell yeah, let’s go!” Well at least afterwards, anyway. If you're really pushing yourself, it might feel like hell. But the good news is you don’t have to train like you’re running in the 100M at the next Olympics. You can reap the benefits by starting out slowly. That’s right, for the general public to see the health bennies of exercise, it’s recommended they shoot for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. You can break that down into 30 minutes, 5 days per week. Once your body begins to adapt to this activity, it’s also recommended that you add strength training into the mix at least twice a week. And I will say, once you begin to see the results of your hard work in the gym, it will definitely increase your overall feeling of well-being and you will start to see things like an increase in confidence, those designer jeans you bought will fit better, you will sleep better, and you will be better equipped to handle life’s stressful situations. And how could this not have a tremendous effect on your mental health?! I’ve lifted weights and exercised for most of my life and have been in tremendous shape and not so tremendous shape. It’s not easy at first, but it gets easier, and you get better at it, and that’s the exciting part.
It’s not hard to comprehend that increasing our level of physical activity is something we can give as a gift to our future selves. I’m not going to try and lecture you or shame you or anything like that. If you do suffer from a mental health condition I know even completing small tasks can seem herculean at times. I want you to know that asking for help is a sign of strength and taking that first step shows bravery and heart. All the information you could ever wish for is out there awaiting your arrival. It’s ultimately up to you to decide what your future will be like. Peace.