Therapist Diaries: Reign in early depressive symptoms and reap the benefits of exercise on mental health.

Most people think of exercise when they want to trim the waistline or get fit. Few realize that exercise can be a natural antidepressant. Exercise can enhance well-being through the release of endorphins. We can relieve stress, feel more relaxed, sleep better, feel energized and improve self-esteem with exercise.

To back this up, a systematic review by Hu M , Turner D , Generaal E , Bos D, Ikram M. K , Ikram M. A , Cuijpers P and Penninx B W. J. H found that exercise has a positive impact on early depressive symptoms and anxiety.

The systematic review also found that a shorter duration of combined aerobic, resistance and flexibility training has shown to have a larger effect on early depressive symptoms.

Exercise can also serve as a distraction in aiding to break the cycle of negative thinking that feeds depression.

All considered, exercise can be a natural mood regulator that has no side effects, can be easily modifiable and is free. You simply cannot go wrong with exercise.

Taking the first step to exercise can be particularly hard when you are dealing with mental health issues. Exercise can come in many forms. Attempting to exercise in a form that you enjoy and are comfortable with will motivate you to get moving and get past feelings of hopelessness and exhaustion. Prioritizing exercise even if it means setting aside 30 mins a day will get you in a healthy habit of exercising soon enough and getting a friend to keep you company and exercise with you can help to make the exercise sessions more pleasant and encourage you to stick with an exercise routine.

To summarize, exercise is a wonderful remedy that allows us to take control of our life and in return get more out of life.