Can Exercise Help Alleviate Anxiety Disorder Symptoms?
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly”
Current estimates of the global prevalence of anxiety disorders see a range from 3.8% to 25%. With those suffering from anxiety disorders at a 26% to 52% increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Treatment therapies such as SSRIs and talk therapy work to address the anxiety disorder but do not affect the increased risk anxious individuals face from cardiovascular disease. It seems clear that a combined approach is necessary.
A 2020 study into physical exercise and anxiety across 47 countries
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-981-15-1792-1_23#citeas
found that not achieving 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity increased the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder by 32% compared to individuals who did reach this physical activity target. Whilst the benefits of physical exercise in alleviating symptoms and co-morbidities of anxiety disorders are clear the exact mechanisms are still not fully understood but are thought to be derived from desensitisation to the physiological stress response.
I am no expert in SSRIs and talk therapy but I am all too familiar with the spiral circles of anxious thoughts that twist and tangle through my head making it impossible to sleep, function, and connect with the people and environment around me. For me, there isn’t one trigger and I can’t predict when that destructive bandit will seep in but I do know that physical activity alleviates the grip of my symptoms.
Sometimes it takes all my willpower to pick up a kettlebell or throw that first punch into the bag but I tell myself “Just do 10 minutes and if you don’t feel better you can stop!” It’s a rare occurrence that I don’t feel relief after 10 minutes.
On mental health week 2021, I’m sending this post out with love to all my fellow anxiety sufferers. Stay strong, I see you, and remember you are becoming a unique butterfly!