Gym, Depression and Anxiety

Scottish_Player

Well-known member
can i ask if anyone has tried weight lifting or just going to the gym to help with their anxiety?

I done a bit of weight lifiting once and got myself to a decent level of fitness and muscle,this made me feel great,my confidence was on a high and i just felt so much better. the only reason i stopped is that i dont have much motivation and now iam back to my skinny little self and hate wearing tshirts cause my arms are so skinny :(
One of the reasons i have no self confindence is due to my build iam very underweight for my height and it depresses me at times,especialy in the summer when everyone is wearing tshirts and iam too self concious too.

I have read somewhere that going to the gym (ive never been to the gym i have the stuff at home) does help with depression aswell.
Iam thinking of starting to do weights again and just wondering if anyone has any opinions on the subject
 

maggie

Well-known member
Scottish_Player :D , I have been working out every single night since end of December, in the hopes that a more fit body would mean more fit mind. But I only will work out in my basement, would never have courage to work out at a gym. I lift weights (light ones :wink: ) and do treadmill, crunches, that kind of thing. For me, it works for short-term, feel really great right after, but long term, hasn't affected my anxiety the way I had hoped :( .
 

elparanoic

Well-known member
Certainly,it's an evidence that the phisical exercises reduce the anxiety overall if we practice every day.
I think that the aerobical exercises as walking,swimming,etc.. are more effectives than no- aerobical .
When I am very depressed,Ia m going to the mountain 2 or 3 hours and when arrive to my home I am an other person .
 

Scottish_Player

Well-known member
I know the feeling you feel right after it :D its like a kinda high if that makes sense.

All the gym stuff i have is in my back garden in the shed,when i leave it i have to walk up a rather long path to get too my house door which i normaly hate because there is normaly alot of kids hanging around in the street and i feel them all looking at me,but if ive done a work out and i walk up the path i can do it with my head held high and feeling great about myself.

Typing this just now reminds me of how good it felt and makes me wanna realy start doing it agiain :) so iam gonna make plans too start this monday heres hoping i can stick to it :?
 

maggie

Well-known member
that's great Scottish_Player; good luck, working out is at least worth the feeling right after, better that not doing it, right? :wink: p.s. your backyard sounds really cool :)
 

Scottish_Player

Well-known member
It was pretty cool at one point,it had a big hedge that was about 15 foot high that meant that no one could see me i could sit out sit outside and do my own thing and then a new neighbour moved in and cut it down and put up a 3ft fence :cry: ,now my garden is not as enclosed as it used too be and too many people can see across to my garden :(
 

JWH

Well-known member
Joining the gym was definitely a good choice for me. Of course I had all the stupid preconceived ideas on gym people, but it turned out that not everyone there is perfect. I don't know if it's my gym or not but everyone tends to pretty much ignore each other. I tend to think of it now as a "safe place" where I can drop in and spend a bit of time on my way home now. It gives me an excuse and reason to go out regularly and face my fears.

I actually feel depressed if I haven't gone and done something with my day now, so yes the factor of exercise is important in depression.
 

pitkreet

Well-known member
I think exercise definitely helps in the fight against anxiety and depression but exercise alone is clearly not the cure - if things are bad mentally, you need to tackle the mental problems, as well as doing other things to improve your life, such as exercise.

I'm a bit like you, Scottish_Player, in that I'm too skinny for my liking. I did join a gym a few years ago and pumped iron, etc, but I found my body didn't respond as I'd have hoped. I went with a couple of mates who did exactly the same weights as me (in fact, I was actually doing a few heavier than them), but they came out looking ripped whereas I still looked puny. I kept it up for a few months but in the end, I felt I was having to put in so much effort for very little reward, that I decided to jack it. I just do things like running, cycling and walking now and a few press-ups/sit-ups to keep things from turning to jelly.
 

renegade

Well-known member
Scottish_Player, I do gym and I have many reasons for it:

- it takes up my time and keeps me occupied

- being fit and through work, looking fit gives you extra confidence

- working out frees endorphines in your brain

- should i add pshysicall health, that influences mental health...

And it is good especially against depression, and not that much against anxiety

Now the main reason I do gym is passion :D
 
Yep going to the Gym deffinately helps, I have been training hard for 5+ years, I do take steroids and diet hard. I look pretty good and it helps with my confidence, there was a point in my life when I was agrophobic, but training and improved self image has helped me over that stage.

Forcing your self to train at home or at the gym certainly helps to take me out of a low as the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done is great.

Go for it get moving, watch your diet and you'll feel and look much better.
 

thequietone

Well-known member
Exercise has helped me in a lot of ways. I use the gym at my University fourtyfive minutes twice a week. It isn't a lot, but I've felt benefits from it.

*I can actually get to sleep because I've expended some energy
*I'm HUNGRY, whereas before, I didn't feel anything and barely saw the point of eating.
*I feel good about myself afterward (not during :lol: )

Granted, I haven't seen much physical results, but I'm a girl (we don't build muscle mass as easily) and I just want to improve my overall health and not become jelly :)
I still don't like to run outside in case someone in a car will see me and the passenger might think I look weird or something! Whether or not you go to a gym is not all that important. It will help you get used to being around people, but you can get a nice workout anywhere.
The good thing is, most people ignore you at a gym, they are focused on what they're doing. I have really never had to speak to anyone.

Even if you're not satisfied with the visible results, you are doing youself a favor by moving around each day.
 
I actually specialize in Physical Fitness for Stress and Anxiety as an agoraphobic I have found huge dividends in strength and conditioning. A proper work out can have a profound impact on your mental state.

Robert Dobó
www.HealthBells.com
 

spurs

Well-known member
i used to run for an hour 4-6 days week, and i didn't have the mental issues that i have now. now that i can't excercise much due to injury my mindstate has completely changed for the worse. also makes me really angry that i can't do something that i love so much cuz i LOVE running.
aerobic excercise gets the feel-good hormones-endorphins-circulating. so you need to do cardio as well as weights.
i would say that for me, intense cardio makes an 80% improvement in the way i feel.
 

Claude

Member
Exercise most definitely helps temporarily alleviate symptoms of depression. Or at least from my experiences is does. I've just started powerlifting and the feeling of accomplishment you get from lifting progressively heavier and heavier weights is great for your confidence. Also, taking martial arts classes helped as well, knowing that you can take out most (not always all) of the potential attackers around you using brutal palm strikes, knees to the chest and groin and stiff punches to the solar plexus certainly helps alleviate some depression. My point is, just try to stay physically active and be the best person you can be all around and that should help curb many (but probably not all) of the negative attitudes you have towards yourself.
 

Imsoscared

Member
I joined the gym, with a friend. when im there i love it, takes my mind of things and its great. but at the moment i just cant find that motivation to push myself to go, at all. and my friend can only go twice a week, he tells me to go alone.. but i just cant. if he goes it gives me that motivation i need. but yes it deffinately helps, and makes you feel better once you've done it.
 

Thelema

Well-known member
The first time I did one real pull up I felt like a million bucks. Now I'm working on getting a one arm pull up (months away but I'm sure I'll get it). My first one arm push up also made me feel like a million bucks even tho they're still difficult for me. One of my ultimate goals is so be able to do the iron cross. Now that I have some muscle I will NEVER go back to being skinny and weak. I'm going to buy a 300 pound olympic weight set for Christmas :D

Remember to have goals guys. They can really motivate you.

But I have to say something. WHEN YOU DO A PUSH UP YOUR CHEST MUST TOUCH THE FLOOR TO COUNT IT AS A PUSH UP! I see so many people going half way down and it kills me! You don't do a bench press half way down and brag about how much you bench do you? Sorry about that. Had to get it off my chest.
 

Slash

Member
Certainly i felt a complete change during my months at the gym, i had more confidence i was more outgoing , more spontanous and less anxious. Its also been a great remedy to depression.

I try to get out for a walk quite often it's refreshin.
 

Pitrus

Well-known member
I wish i didnt suffered from FB and FF couse i used to go ty the gym 5 days a week for a year and also was getting a nice shapes and looks and becouse of my FF/FB i had to quit couse the gym just makes it worse.
 
Top