Over 60 million people have dealt with the symptoms of anxiety. Of these 60 million, about 30 million have a full-blown anxiety disorder. With these numbers, of course the pharmaceutical industry has made its mark in regards to anxiety medication. However, because of the many side effects a lot of these medications have, more and more people have become apprehensive about taking medications for their anxiety.
That is understandable. Anxiety has a lot to do with thought patterns and how you feel. Most times, a pill will not make these thought patterns go away. They can improve how you feel, but the problem is still there.
People have turned to natural remedies to help with anxiety. This can include, but not limited to, mind-body techniques, herbal treatment, cognitive therapy, and exercise. Exercise is an interesting option because not many people would associate it with helping anxiety sufferers. However, exercise has been scientifically proven to be a mood enhancer, with regular exercise linked with decreased anxiety, stress, and hostility.
Toughens you up
Exercise has the ultimate benefit of getting the body in shape and fit. That's why we all exercise. Well, it also prepares your body for the stressors of everyday life. The body is better equipped to handle the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack when it is trained to do so. Exercise itself can be considered a stressor. The body is working hard and adapting to this hard work. Exercise toughens the body up.
For example, two of the most common symptoms of an anxiety attack are a fast heart rate and high blood pressure (sometimes you can just feel the pulse through the veins). With a constant and consistent exercise routine, the heart rate will lower and the blood pressure will drop when encountering these stressors.
Neurotransmitters
In simple terms, neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain and they have to be in balance to be in equilibrium. Any imbalance and that's when these disorders occur. One neurotransmitter is called serotonin. A lower level of serotonin in the brain is widely associated with causing a whole bunch of disorders, including anxiety. There are prescription medications available that the sole purpose of them is to increase the serotonin in the brain.
Well, exercise does that too. It is proven that exercise increases the production of serotonin in a way that is similar to these medications. Prolonged exercise actually increases serotonin metabolism. There have been study groups conducted that prove consistent exercise can be just as effective as these medications for anxiety.
Negative Thoughts
This is actually pretty neat when you think about it. Exercise can have the potential to change negative thought patterns. The common theme amongst the different types of anxiety is avoidance. Avoidance of social events, leaving home for too long, the sensations that are feared, or anything else is a common pattern. Establishing and maintaining an exercise routine helps individuals with avoidance, because exercise is often an activity that is wished to be avoided.
It also breaks people out of the habit of avoiding social situations. Often people start out with short brisk walks, where they enjoy the outdoors. They can graduate to running on a treadmill in the gym, where they may meet other people and engage in conversations. Over time, the idea of becoming more sociable may not seem all that scary after all, since meeting people at the gym didn't seem too bad. Avoiding the sensations felt during an attack doesn't seem that scary anymore either, since you feel these same sensations when running hard on the treadmill.
By Jamie Black
