Boosting Your Mental Health Through Physical Exercise Blog Post Author: Calvin Hollingsworth Mental Health has received quite the buzz in recent years. There are many ways we can improve our overall mental and emotional well-being. I have mentioned this in previous blog posts on various things we can do to be mentally and emotionally healthier. This post will focus on what consistent physical exercise can do to improve yourself mentally and emotionally. Exercise in any form, helps the brain release endorphins that help improve your mood, thus improving your overall mental health. The best example I can give to you is what exercise has done for me in my life. I have struggled with depression most of my adult life. My depression led to a lack of ambition, isolating myself from others, and being deep in negative thoughts of self-loathing and mental anguish. I ate food that wasn’t great for me, which led to me gaining a lot of weight and being obese for most of my life. Shortly after graduating from college, I had a goal to join the Navy. I busted my butt with the help of loved ones. Over time and much sacrifice, I lost nearly 60 pounds. To make a very long story short, a career in the Navy never worked out due to medical issues. Despite being unable to join, I still decided I wanted to continue my trajectory of healthy living instead of reverting to gaining the weight I worked so hard to lose. Doing aerobic and anaerobic exercise, while being more active throughout the day has been able to help me to keep my depression and lack of motivation at bay. Though some days are better than others, through my consistency at exercising, I have been able to be more happy and feel a great sense of accomplishment having a solid workout was the highlight of my day because I was able to conquer my inner demons that day. My depression doesn’t last as long when I exercise. We all go through hardships in our lives that demand so much of our time, energy, or stress which can make life too much for us to bear. This leads to many people suffering from imbalance in their lives. Though exercise is not the cure-all for all mental issues, it is one of the greatest things for you to do to improve your health both physically and mentally. You will be able to have more energy throughout your day which will help you to be more productive. Who doesn’t want to be more productive? As I have stressed in many previous blog posts, consistency is key to success. It’s human nature to want to take the easy way out in life. If you want to grow and improve, you need to meet adversity head-on and muster the strength to overcome that said adversity. It’s hard to exercise, that is the point. The point is to push yourself past your limits by developing an unyielding mindset that you can accomplish anything you set yourself to do. Again, all it takes is consistency and self-discipline. Before you know it, you will be in the best physical and mental shape of your life and you will want to conquer the world!
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Tag: Mental Health
Our Need to Disconnect
Our Need to Disconnect Author: Calvin Hollingsworth We live in a peculiar time in today’s day and age. Over the past several decades, especially the past two, we have seen a huge surge in technological advances. We have this worldwide network called the internet, phones in our pockets that are thousands of times more powerful than the computers that got us on the moon, and social media where we can connect online and make new friends or reacquaint ourselves with old friends anywhere around the world. While these technologies aren’t bad at face value, they can cause us to be disconnected from reality if left unchecked. They actually are life-changing for the better in helping us complete day-to-day tasks much more efficiently. But on the flip side, we are so dependent on our phones and social media that it has become an addiction in our society. Mental health in Millennials, Gen Z, and younger generations has plummeted due to an excessive use of these technologies. We get dopamine shots every time we get notifications. We compare ourselves to others and therefore we feel that we are not good enough. It also doesn’t help that people tend to share highlights of their lives and give their followers the facade that their lives are perfect in every way when that’s obviously not true. There is an ancient saying that I love that says “everything in moderation” that can’t be any more truer today. There is power in disconnecting from technology and enjoying the beauty around us. There are many ways where we can disconnect. Meditation is a great way for us to look inward and focus on self-healing and reflection. One of my favorite places to meditate is to be surrounded by nature, whether it be at the beach, or up in the mountains, and soaking up all of the sights and sounds. It is amazing what a few minutes of meditation and self-discovery can do for your overall well-being and I highly recommend you do the same. Reading a novel or an uplifting book works wonders in disconnecting and healing. Reading helps you to slow down mentally and focus your attention on the content you are ingesting. Studies have shown that reading a physical book increases your intelligence, aids in sleep, boosts mental health, and reduces stress to name a few. It can be a wonderful activity to decompress and escape reality for a brief moment. Find a genre that interests you and start reading. Who knows, maybe you will find other people with similar book interests and make some new friends! Human interaction, especially physical interaction, is the best way for us to disconnect. As much as some people would rather be by themselves, we need to spend as much time as we can around people that love and care about us. Being surrounded by good people will help you navigate your journey through life. Speaking from experience, and as an introvert myself, I feel some of the best times in my life have been when I am surrounded by those who love me and it has worked literal miracles in my personal life. Sure, I need time to myself to recharge my batteries, but if I don’t get some sort of human communication, I go crazy. I know most people are different, but try to pick and choose who you associate with and seek to find people who uplift and inspire you to be a better human being. There is no right or wrong way to disconnect. The importance is to make sure you take time out of your life to focus on yourself. Whether that be a few minutes in the morning when you wake up, you’re going on a run, or relaxing at home to a good book, it’s entirely up to you. As long as you devote some time every day to recharge and heal, that’s all that matters. It will make the world of a difference in every aspect of your life. Balance is crucial for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And this also includes our use of technology. Maintaining balance is brilliant in theory, but is very difficult to master in practice. It is a lifelong pursuit. We live in a time where several things demand much of our time, focus, and energy. We oftentimes are stressed beyond the breaking point and feel like we are trapped, to just accept that our lives are out of our control. This is why it is crucial for us to take some time out of our busy days to focus on ourselves. Work on developing balance by taking one step at a time every day and keep up with that habit. Consistency is key. Over time, you will look back and see how far you’ve come which is highly motivating to keep you moving forward. Remember, “everything in moderation.”