- Exercise gives natural release to the restless energy of anxiety.
- Exercise also assists with the “freeze” aspects to anxiety by literally getting us moving.
- Integrating activity intoIntegrating activity into your wellness practice doesn’t have to be grand, a 30-second yoga pose is a start.
- Some therapists have taken advantage of the benefits of exercise through walk-and-talk therapy.
Like everyone else, I’ve heard, from the beginning of time, that exercise is good for you. This is nothing new. Exercise is good for everything. Nevertheless, I didn’t have high expectations that it would help with my anxiety. It wasn’t until I learned about anxiety’s impact on the body, given its evolutionary purpose, that I understood the logic behind exercise for anxiety. It does help.
Anxiety triggers our body’s natural fight, flight, or freeze response. We feel a surge of energy to motivate us to escape a threat, or we become overwhelmed and immobilized in the process. On the savannah, this may have been an advantage to our ancestors. In our modern world of mostly social and emotional ‘threats,’ this response isn’t so helpful.
Or is it?
Exercise is a means of giving our bodies a way to release that energy, to start moving again. It forces us into the moment and to attend to our physical well-being. Afterwards, there is a natural relief.
To me, that made sense. It’s not just that exercise is ‘good for you,’ it can be a magic key to the handcuffs anxiety places on us through meeting its need and allowing it to play out its purpose.
I found myself more willing to give it a go.
My motion of choice is swimming. Dragging myself to the pool when both restless and frozen with anxiety is tough. For most others and me, the hardest part about exercise is getting started. Once I’m swimming, it’s a process. It’s as much a workout for my mind as my body. My thoughts will wander and then refocus in one moment. Afterwards, there is a sense of peace and strength.
Some therapists have integrated exercise into their treatment through walk-and-talk therapy. This became popular in the days of COVID-19, when meeting indoors held risk. Yet, the benefits are noted. A qualitative study of seven participants in walk-and-talk therapy discovered that many found the rhythm of walking encouraging the therapeutic process (Greenleaf et al., 2023).
3 tips for introducing exercise into your wellness routine
- Everything Counts: There is no such thing as ‘real exercise.’ A short walk is just as much exercise as a run. Even a 30-second yoga pose is more than nothing at all. Try out different types of movement to see what you enjoy. It does not have to be a military-level routine.
- A Workout Doesn’t Have to Be Traditional: My partner likes to chop wood outside. That’s exercise. For me, cleaning out my giant van is also exercise. You might dance around your house, decorate a room, or even see if you can still do cartwheels in the backyard. It doesn’t matter. It’s all active.
- Keep Trying: Exercise might not grant you instant relief from your anxiety. Still, the gains of exercise add up with time. If you don’t see the results you are looking for right away, that’s okay. Keep trying.
References
Greenleaf, A. T., Williams, J. M., Leibsohn, J., Park, J., & Walther, B. (2023). “Put on Your Walking Shoes”: A Phenomenological Study of Clients’ Experience of Walk and Talk Therapy. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1-16.