Coping with Anxiety, Stress, and Other Conditions

Learn ways to cope with anxiety, stress, depression, phobias, shyness and other mental and emotional conditions. You don’t have to be a victim of any of these conditions or disorders any more! Learn ways to overcome the conditions and live your life on your own terms!

How Exercise Strenghtens Your Mind, Body, and Soul: Get That Body Moving!

by Joi

Panther Creek Park Hiking Trail Owensboro Kentucky

Exercise, such as hiking a great trail, is great for your mind, your body, and even your emotions. Exercise reduces stress and brings about a feeling of contentment and happiness.

Everyone knows that exercise is GREAT for you.  Being physically active isn’t only beneficial for the way you look, it’ s healthy for your bones, your cardiovascular system, your respiratory system, your brain, and even your emotional state.  When we exercise, we release endorphins.  Endorphins help reduce stress, improve our mood, and even bring about a feeling of happiness.  Endorphins could give dogs a run for “man’s best friend!”

Exercise also helps us to relax and even improves our sleep.  Obviously these add greatly to the physical and emotional benefits of exercise.

Exercise has also been shown to improve memory and mental ability and is believed by experts to be vital for maintaining desired brain function as we get grow older. Our generation is, for very good reason, concerned about Alzheimer’s prevention, dementia prevention, preserving our memory, and staying mentally fit.  We read everything we can get our hands on and vow to eat better, exercise more, and challenge our minds each and every day.

The problem is, many people stop right there! They don’t change their diet, they don’t seek out ways to become more active, and they keep doing and reading the same things over and over again.

On the mental fitness blog, we spend a great deal of time talking about brain food (foods we should be eating and not eating for optimum brain health) and we certainly look at different brain games and ways to challenge our minds.  Over the past year, we’ve spent more time discussing how exercise benefits the brain and strengthens the mind.   However, we have to remind ourselves daily that thinking about these things or reading about them isn’t going to bring about the desired results.  We have to make up our mind to actively pursue mental fitness.  We must be proactive about all aspects of our health: mental, emotional, and physical.

I hope you’ll vow, today, to become more physically active. The great thing is you don’t have to join a gym, get on a bike, or even play sports.  All of those things are great, mind you, but not everyone has the time or inclination to do any of these activities.  My advice is this: Simply MOVE MORE!

Below are ways to “sneak” more activity into your days:

  • When you go to the store, park as far away from the door as you possibly can!
  • Be mindful of the number of steps you take a day – the more the better.  You may even want to buy a pedometer to keep track of your steps. It’s actually a lot of fun to wear one on your waist and try to hit 10,000 (or more) steps each day.
  • Clean house like you mean it! Clean for a straight 30 minutes, exaggerating each movement.
  • When in the grocery store, take the long route to each item on your list. Remember, get your step count up.
  • Use a push mower for all, or at least part, of your yard.
  • Get in the habit of taking a 10-15 minute walk after breakfast and again after supper.
  • Take your dog for long walks – it’s great for both of you.
  • While watching television, lift weights, do yoga, or simply walk in place.
  • If you have a sedentary job, get up often and stretch, do lunges, and even jumping jacks (this is assuming no one else is around!)
  • If you’re a homemaker or work from home, make a point of having 3 fifteen minute activity bursts during the day. During each burst, get up and walk briskly through the house, turn on music and dance, or simply get in the floor and do the exercises you learned in gym class, circa 1970.  (jumping jacks, leg lifts, push ups…)
  • Find great hiking trails in your area. You’ll have so much fun you’ll want to go again and again and again. That, of course, is the idea.

Bottom line: Get that body moving and don’t ever let it stop.  A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body NOT in motion tends to succumb to atrophy.  How’s that for shocking imagery?

Make each move count double!

~ Joi

The Number One Way to Head Stress Off at the Pass

by Joi

Holy Mole Comic Strip

When we commit to action, to actually doing something rather than feeling trapped by events, the stress in our life becomes manageable. – Greg Anderson

Stress is one of those dreaded things in life that, when it bites, feels as if it has a billion and one teeth. We find ourselves at its mercy, searching for ways to forcibly remove its teeth from our backside. We listen to Classical music, practice our favorite yoga poses, chant every relaxing affirmation we can remember, drink green tea, pet the cat, spray the room with lavender, take deep breaths, rub smooth stones… sometimes all at once.  It can be done. Trust me, I raised three daughters – who were all in their teens at once.

Ohm… Ohm… Ohm…..

In addition to the raising of the three, I also work from home full-time in our web publishing business. You know the drill.  When you’re in business for yourself, it’s all on you. Your success, your failure, your outcome, your bottom line – they’re all in your hands.  And the hands they’re in only add up to two, even though the work is more suited for about 8 hands.  Throw being a wife and mother on top of working from home – and then sprinkle it with an ecomony that’s hell bent on making paupers of us all and, you guessed it…

Ohm…. Ohm… Ohm…. where’s the lavender?…. I need more green tea… Bach or Beethoven?…. Somebody bring me the cat!!!

Throughout my life, however – yes, even when the three were in their teens – I’ve learned that the best way to really handle stress when it shows up on your doorstep isn’t to hide in another room.  The smartest thing isn’t to pull the drapes and try to hide, as though it’s with Jehovah’s Witness.  You can’t see me, I must not be home. Hop on your bike and ride away.

The funny thing about stress is this: It doesn’t hop on its bike and ride away. It also doesn’t fall for your “I’m not home” trick.  Stress knows you’re there and it’s not leaving until it sinks its teeth in.

As odd as it may seem, when stress steps onto your doorstep, the wisest thing to do is open the door before it even has a chance to knock. Get the jump on him and catch him off guard. Like all bullies, stress wants to feel as though it has the upper hand and the last say. These are its life sources, so to speak, and if you keep giving them to it, stress will see no reason to leave.

Meet Stress Head On!

One of my favorite ways to relax and unwind is to take my coffee or tea into the front yard, sit in a favorite lawn chair, and watch butterflies in our flower bed and birds at our bird feeders. I sit with our outside cats as our inside cat sits at the window, glaring out.  The cats apparently think it’s relaxing to watch birds, too, they never take their eyes off of them.

A few days ago, I was having a crazy bad day – one in which everything didn’t just go wrong, it went bizarrely wrong.  Needless to say, I practically ran to the front yard. Unfortunately, the stress was right on my heels and sat in a chair adjacent to mine. It occurred to me that I couldn’t outrun the stressors and there was no where to hide. As I watched a couple of gorgeous white doves (and wondered how dove hunters could live with themselves), I realized that the only way to DITCH the stressors was to DEFEAT the stressors.  So I said adieu to the doves, cardinals, cats, butterflies, and squirrels, grabbed my iced tea, and came back to the computer.

Within an hour I had all the things that were looming over me “knocked out” and returned to the front yard. This time I came alone and the only thing in the adjacent chair was my cat Hannah.

Ask yourself what things cause you the most stress. Money? Work? Feeling overwhelmed? Chores? Make no mistake about it, your stressor will come to you as soon as you ask for it. It’s waiting just around the corner. Always is. Now, summon up all of the common sense and intellect you have at your disposal and come up with ways to prevent the situations in which these particular stressors present themselves.

When you do so, you will have met stress at the door, stopped it in its steps, and slammed the door in its face.  Read the quote at the top again… never mind, I’ll bring it to you – When we commit to action, to actually doing something rather than feeling trapped by events, the stress in our life becomes manageable. – Greg Anderson

Now put that in your green tea and sip it!

Make each moment count double,

~ Joi

The adorable comic strip at the top of the post is the Holy Mole strip by Rick Hotton. To see more of this entertaining, inspirational, and one-of-a-kind comic strip see Holy Mole on Self Help Daily.

What are Bifocal Glasses?

by Joi

The following is a sponsored guest post. Enjoy!

Ever heard of Bifocal glasses? Not many people will have unless they have them or know someone who wears them. So here is what they are.

Bifocal glasses are glasses that have two optical powers. This means they help you see far away as well as helping you see up close. These are ideal for those that are both short and long-sighted.

It is believed that Benjamin Franklin invented the bifocal lens around 1784. However many historians believe it was not all his doing and that he may have not come with the idea himself at all. But, putting this aside, the bifocal lens was coined in 1824 and began to help many of those with poor vision.

The way it works is that the glasses lens is split into two. The top half will aid you with seeing far away and the bottom half will help you see up close. This allows you to switch from one viewpoint to the other with minimal effort.

Nowadays bifocal lenses are very common, but they do have their disadvantages. The split of the lens can take a lot of getting used to. You have to train your brain to look through the correct part. This takes time, and initially you will have to consciously tell yourself to look through the bottom when reading and to look through the top when driving. But in time this changes and you soon find yourself doing it without thinking.

The advantages of them, once used to them, are that you only have to deal with one pair of glasses. You will soon forget that they are there, and although they slightly magnify your eyes, this gives the illusion of large Bambi eyes, which are only an attractive feature. So do not be afraid of them if you are prescribed them. They do exactly what they are designed to do; to help you see everything.

If you fancy a change take a look at contact lenses online over at www.getlenses.co.uk.

Know Your Stress Triggers. Avoid Your Stress Triggers!

by Joi

Stress Triggers, how to avoid them and stres less!

All of us, even the most laid back people in the world, have stress triggers. Simply put, stress triggers are people, events, situations, or circumstances that cause us to feel anxious and stressed.   Like kryptonite to Superman, these stress triggers keep us from functioning at our peak and they rob us the normal peaceful life we crave. And deserve.

Many times if an individual is looking for ways to feel less stress and anxiety, simply identifying their stress triggers can help a lot. After all, half the battle is always knowing who or what you’re battling.

A really common stress trigger is money problems. Most of us feel stress like never before when the cash flow is more of a cash trickle.  Full blown stress hits when the bills waiting to be paid outnumber the bills that are needed to pay them!  For those of us who know, full well, that money is a stress trigger, the wise thing to do is to put forth EXTRA effort to make more and/or spend less.  Someone once told me that, because of the economy, they were getting a second job.  When I pointed out that that would be pretty stressful, to spend so much time working – I couldn’t argue with their answer, “Nothing could be as stressful as worrying about money all the time.”

The fact that coupons and “extreme coupon reality shows” are so popular right now indicates two things:

  1. The economy isn’t completely back on its feet yet.
  2. People are looking for ways to ease the stress of not having as much money as they want.

Basically, there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who complain and those who do something about it.  The latter handles the situation and battles their stress triggers, while the former is at their mercy.

Money is, of course, only one of many potential stress triggers.  Certain situations can trigger stress and, when possible, avoiding them is necessary. Same can be said for certain people.  Sometimes avoidance is the only peaceful resolution.  If avoidance ISN’T an option, think of things YOU can do to make the situation better.

The best time to think about, identify, and make a plan for dealing with stress triggers is while you aren’t feeling particularly stressful or anxious.  Sit and think about times in your life when you’ve felt tense, stressed out, on edge, or anxious.  Ask questions such as, “What was I doing?  Where was I? What made me feel this way?”

The stress triggers will come into focus and you’ll be able to identify them right away. Remind yourself that you’re in control and challenge yourself to come up with ways to get rid of these stress triggers.

No one is at their best when they’re stressed because NO ONE wears stress well. Do all you can to reduce the amount of stress in your life and you’ll increase the peacefulness and enjoyment of your life.

Make each moment as peaceful as possible!
~ Joi

Vitamin B12 and Protein: Vital for Mental Health

by Joi

B12 Vital for Mental Health

Vitamin B12 is one of the most powerful tools in the Prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia arsenal. I know that, you know that, even my cats know that. To me, the real importance of the study is that it deals one more body blow to modern diet recommendations, which tell us that protein and fat are the enemies of good health.

However, mental fitness experts point out that protein is where nature meant us to get our B12 from. And, let’s face it, nature knows what its doing.

The only natural food sources of vitamin B12 are animal products like fish, meat and eggs.

Research proves that protein keeps you healthy and strong.  Recently I was doing a great deal of research on skin health – as it relates to aging as well as components of a healthy skin diet.  Source after source after source pointed out the importance of protein. Basically, my research showed that protein is VITAL for healthy skin and a healthy complexion.  If you’re interested in keeping your skin looking as young as possible (and who isn’t?!), protein is a secret weapon.

Even more importantly,  in addition to being necessary for good heart health, protein prevents serious problems (even more serious than wrinkles!) like depression and Alzheimer’s.  Even a slight deficiency in B12 can lead to anemia, fatigue, and depression.  Even more frightening, a long term deficiency in B12 can potentially cause permanent damage to the brain.

 

Here are some food sources of vitamin B12:

  • Eggs (here’s something that might shock you – you’d have to eat almost half a chicken to get the same amount of B12 you can get in just one egg)
  • Chicken
  • Fish
  • Beef
  • Cheese
  • Crab
  • Lobster
  • Liver

As with other vitamins and nutrients, don’t rely on supplements. Get your vitamins from the food you eat.  You have more riding on it than you can afford to lose.

Make each moment count double!

~ Joi

     

     

    The Connection Between Seafood Omega-3s and Mental Health

    by Joi

    Alaska Salmon

    About a year ago, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute sent me a wonderful package of recipes and health information to use for my food blog. Last night I was looking through the recipes for one in particular for salmon. While sorting through delicious-sounding recipes, I came across a pamphlet titled “Seafood Omega-3s and Mental Health.”

    Obviously, mental fitness and brain health are of the utmost interest to me, so I put my recipe search on hold and read the information front to cover.

    Fascinating! If I didn’t already love fish madly, I’d certainly begin a love affair now. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to eat more fish? It’s delicious, low fat, usually low calorie, great for your heart, and now we learn just how great it is for our mental health.

    I sat down to the computer to type in the wonderful article – then it hit me, I’m sure they have a pdf on their website. Lo and behold they didn’t let me down. If mental fitness and the health of your brain are as important to you as they should be, I hope you’ll click the following link and read the article. It’s short but it’s packed with great information, particularly in the areas of depression, postpartum depression, and Bipolar Disorder.

    Even if these subjects aren’t relevant to you personally, you’ll learn just how vital omega-3s are to the brain’s functions. Read Seafood Omega-3s and Mental Health for more information.

    This is Your Mind On Music. Any Questions?

    by Joi

    I’ve always been amazed by the influence music can have on a person. When you’re feeling down, the right kind of music can lift your spirits. Ironically, when you’re feeling sad, listening to sad songs can somehow help as well. That one has always stumped me – you’d think it’d make matters worse, wouldn’t you?!

    Even in movies and on television, the effects of music are epic. When we’re watching a scary movie, the music played in the background serves to heighten our fear. Upbeat soundtracks cause our emotions to soar right along with the music!

    I’ve also noticed that music can have a very relaxing effect on the listener. A lot of the time, when I’m working at the computer, I’ll have Patsy Cline, Motown Classics, or Johnny Cash serenading me while I plug along. Good thing I work from home! Different songs, and even different artists, affect people differently – for whatever reasons, Patsy Cline songs always bring a smile to my face and calm into my world.

    Even on Mondays.

    A new study now backs up what I’ve said all along: Listening to music makes the brain release a chemical that gives pleasure. Researchers found that music causes our brain cells to react to music much as they do to food or sex.

    Is it any wonder so many people love to listen to music?

    Interestingly, the study proved that the songs don’t even have to have vocals accompanying them – instrumentals have the same reaction. In fact, personally, I’ve found that instrumentals are often more relaxing. Classical music is especially good for sort of turning off the thinking process and shutting out the world. I’ll often play classical music while working online. I find my fingers trying to keep beat with the music sometimes.

    What can I say, sometimes I need a little amusement in the middle of a long day.

    Try this: The next time you feel stressed or anxious, listen to classical music (like the music in the video below). You’ll find that your stress and anxieties will diminish as the notes carry them away. If you don’t happen to have a classical music collection (yet!) search Classical Music on YouTube, or search for an individual composer’s work. A quick search for Relaxing Music brings about some beautiful results as well.

    Make each moment count double,
    ~ Joi

    Stress Less by Moving More

    by Joi

    If one of your resolutions, or goals, is to find a way to handle stress and another is to get fit – you’re in for a pleasant surprise because one of the best ways to achieve one is also one of the best ways to achieve the other.

    People spend a great deal of time trying to find ways of coping with stress.  They try talking things out, repressing worries and anxieties, meditation, and a host of other approaches. While some achieve a certain level of success with these stress reducers, there is a simpler and more productive way to combat stress.  What’s more, you’ll reap far more head-to-toe benefits with this approach than the others combined.

    The stress-busting solution: Engage in as much physical exercise as you can possibly engage in.

    One laboratory experiment took ten underexercised rats, and subjected them repeatedly to a variety of stresses: shock, pain, shrill noises, and flashing lights. After a month, every one of them had died through the incessant strain. Another group of rats was given a good deal of exercise until they were in peak physical condition. They were then subjected to the same battery of stresses and strains. After a month, not one had died.

    (Disclaimer: As an intense… intense…. intense animal lover, I’m never FOR animal experiments – even on rats.  However, I do have to concede that when science is able to gather information that benefits humans, it’s difficult to argue.  How extraordinary it would be if one day science found another way.)

    Here’s the basic, simple, and profound truth:  Our bodies were made to move and the more they are exercised, the more effectively they function.  From Adam and Eve to you and me, our bodies were beautifully designed to function and work.  We were made to hunt, gather, build, work, run, and then go back and do it all over again.  We weren’t intended to sit as much as we do.  We weren’t made to find the easiest way to do things, the path of the least resistance, or the shortest distance to take.

    We weren’t made to ride buggies around the grocery store because we’re too lazy (or overweight) to walk.  We weren’t made to find the closest parking space possible to the front door so we don’t have far to walk.  We weren’t made to blow right past the stairs and take the elevator every time.

    Many of the problems we have today (physical, mental, and emotional) could be greatly alleviated if we simply got more exercise and increased our activity.

    Studies on the ways exercise helps to reduce stress are VERY conclusive.

    Benefits of Exercise for the Body and Mind:

    • gets rid of harmful chemicals in our bodies
    • burns extra calories to help us lose weight or keep from gaining too much weight
    • strengthens our muscles
    • strengthens our bones
    • improves our circulation
    • aids in digestion
    • strengthens our respiratory system
    • strengthens our mind
    • provides a form of abreaction (a way we can let off steam)
    • builds up stamina
    • counteracts the biochemical effects of stress
    • reduces the risk of psychological illness

    Growth and advancement are almost always wonderful things.  In our world of advanced technology, however, we simply aren’t getting enough activity and exercise.  Think about it, when’s the last time you engaged in activity long enough (or strenuous enough) to break a sweat? When’s the last time you pushed your body beyond what it’s accustomed to doing?

    For every aspect of our bodies, we need to find ways to ADD exercise and activity to our daily routines. Keeping an activity journal is one way to get in touch with how much – or how little – you actually move.  Most of us would be surprised at how many hours we actually spend sitting.

    Wearing a pedometer is another great way to gauge your movement.  Experts tell us we need to aim for at least 10,000 steps daily.

    Whether you are trying to cope with stress and anxiety or not, adding more exercise to your life will make you both healthier and happier.  Do it for your mind, do it for your heart, do it for your weight, do it for your emotions…. just do it!

    Make each moment count double,
    ~ Joi

    Relaxation 101: Quiet the Mind and Steady the Nerves

    by Joi

    It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts. -  K.T. Jong

    Yesterday afternoon, I noticed something as I walked through my kitchen.  It wasn’t necessarily the smell of soup on the stove (although it did smell good!) or the sight of my beautiful cat Alexa intently watching birds from her window perch.

    What struck me was the noise – or I should say the LACK of noise. My family members work different hours of the day and night, and during the day (from 9 am to 3 pm) everyone besides me and Alexa are either sleeping, at work, or in class.  I work from home and, during my work hours, I don’t play music or watch tv.  On my lunch break, I pop in an episode of I Love Lucy, Friends,  The Beverly Hillbillies, Andy Griffith (or another favorite classic sitcom) – but it comes out the minute the last bite has been eaten.

    It was during this “Quiet Zone” that I walked through the house and couldn’t help noticing how different quiet seems.  Throughout a typical day, we all encounter so much clatter and racket that I think it becomes normal.  The television, the traffic, the radio, videos online, text dings, phone rings, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the noise police.  I love sounds of life!  And, around 3:00 each day, I’m pretty much craving them.

    However, I’m also a huge fan of periods of absolute quiet.  When I drive, I almost never play the radio anymore.  I often like to drive along with my thoughts to keep me company – they’re excellent companions, I never know what to expect from them next.

    And that’s the point.

    If we fill our ears… and, thereby, our minds…. up with noise all day, how will we ever hear ourselves think.  When will we find the opportunity to squeeze an original thought in?

    Our world is one noisy place. But get this:  According to a news report, science has found a way to achieve absolute silence.  Silence that even surpasses the silence in our home form 9 – 3.   Scientists have shown off the blueprint for an acoustic cloak, which could make objects impervious to sound waves. The technology, outlined in the New Journal of Physics, could be used to build sound-proof homes, advanced concert halls, or stealth warships.  I guess the last example are of little use if they aren’t sneaky.

    We’d all do well to find our own “acoustic cloak” – and not JUST when we’re trying to write, think, study, or concentrate.  Granted, these times require peace and quiet – but you’d be surprised how therapeutic absolute quiet is when you enjoy it “for no reason at all.”

    Start carving out “acoustic cloak” moments of your own during the day. Plan for them in the same way you’d plan to exercise. Below are some suggestions for these delicious time outs:

    • While driving to and from work. Leave the radio off and ride along with your thoughts.
    • Before, during, and after your shower or bath.  Try to keep your mind as still and quiet as possible.
    • Take a nice quiet walk outdoors.  The music nature makes can’t be beat by any instrument man invents.
    • Sit and stare out the window in absolute silence – just like a cat!

    If you set aside time during the day to QUIET and STEADY your mind and nerves, you’ll feel refreshed and invigorated for the rest of the day.  Who knows, you might even hear a great idea in your head that you’d been drowning out.

    People are always looking for ways to relax, ways to unwind, and ways to get rid of anxiety.  The first step is to simply bring more quiet to your world.  Too much stimulation of the senses can leave you feeling overwhelmed and out of sorts.  One of the simplest, yet most powerful, things you can do is to simply bring more quietness to your world.

    A word of warning, however:  Don’t become a noise police, expecting everyone around you to tiptoe or turn their entertainment down.  If you find one area of your home too noisy, be considerate and simply move to another.   You simply can’t expect everyone to seek peace and quiet at the exact same time everyday… unless, the individual you spend most of your time with is a goldfish!

    Make each quiet moment count double,
    ~ Joi

    Take Depression for a Walk and Feel Better

    by Joi

    When people feel down, stressed out, or anxious, they immediately turn to something to make themselves feel, at least temporarily, better.  Unfortunately, from a physical health standpoint, many times they turn to food.

    To compound the problem, feeling depressed drains an individual of their energy, leaving them completely uninspired to get any physical activity.  However, physical activity could be JUST the thing they need in order to lift,  not only their mood, but also the darkness that seems to be hovering over their life.

    “Energy loss is one of the key characteristics of depression. Some people feel that it’s the key characteristic of depression,” says Robert E. Thayer, PhD, a psychology professor at California State University, Long Beach, an expert in managing mood, and the author of Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise.

    He points to exercise as one of the best ways for depressed people to lift their mood. “Exercise generates energy,” Thayer says.

    According to Dr. Thayer, when depressed people begin to exercise, the following physiological changes take place: “There’s a whole series of things that happen when we begin to exercise. As we get up and begin to move and exercise, there’s a general bodily arousal state that occurs. It includes many different systems of the body — everything from metabolism to cardiovascular activation, various kinds of endocrine changes in the brain, various kinds of hormonal changes and shifts.”
    What happens psychologically when people start to exercise? “It depends on the degree and level of exercise. With moderate exercise, [in our research] we’ve been working with short, brisk walks [of] five or 10 minutes. The primary mood effect in that situation is increased energy. Secondarily, sometimes — but not always — there’s a tension reduction.”

    “With more intense exercise — for example, an hour of heavy aerobic exercise — there is a reduction in energy and a reduction in tension. But oftentimes, after recovery [from the workout], there’s an energy resurgence that occurs.”

    The depressed person is, of course, delighted to see that the benefits come about  fairly quickly. When you take a short walk, you’ll notice that you begin to feel differently almost immediately. It doesn’t have to be a long walk and it doesn’t have to be at an intense, roadrunner pace!

    Even those of us who have not faced depression, can’t help but recognize the “feel good” side effects of walking.  If you’re in a good mood, it’ll only heighten the way you feel. If you’re feeling down, the activity will lift your spirits – again, almost immediately.

    The biggest hurdle an individual with depression faces when it comes to exercise is this:  Taking that first, all important, step.  When you’re depressed, you have no energy.   That’s not all in your head – depression, literally, zaps you of your energy and your will to do just about anything.

    If you suggest exercising to someone who is depressed, they’re liable to think you’re either cruel or joking – or both!

    In a situation such as this, it is all about taking that first step.  MAKE yourself get up, put down the remote control (or climb out of the bed or off of the couch – wherever it is that your depression has dumped you), and move.  Make a goal to walk down the street and back – or once around the yard.  Chances are, the instant you begin to feel your mood lift, you’ll want more where that came from and you’ll walk even longer.

    Source: WebMD

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