Guest Post: Exercise Strengthens the Body and the Mind

“Fitness, in my opinion, is a mental exercise more than just physical.”

– Indian actress Anushka Shetty

Exercise is indeed both a mental and physical activity. We often hear people talking about how Working out makes them feel better.

• Taking walks helps them clear their minds.
• Running helps them achieve a natural runner’s high.

Clearly, there’s a connection between physical and mental fitness. People who exercise regularly could:

• Reduce fatigue if they’re undergoing cancer treatment. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network says that “exercise increases muscle strength, joint flexibility, and general conditioning.”
• Provide mental and physical benefits if they’re recovering from addictions. Alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers often encourage their clients to hit the gym as a form of holistic treatment that addresses their minds, bodies, and spirits.
• Strengthen their bones if they have osteoporosis. As an added bonus, if people don’t have osteoporosis, regular exercise may prevent it from occurring in the first place.

Thus, exercising regularly may reduce pain and fatigue. It may even prevent it. If we’re less tired and sore, we may be better able to function in general.

We certainly may be better able to handle our mental health. “Depressed adults who took part in a fitness program displayed significantly greater improvements in depression, anxiety, and self-concept than those in a control group after 12 weeks of training,” reported scholars who reviewed research about exercise and mental health.

During exercise, the brain’s pituitary gland and hypothalamus release chemicals known as endorphins. Endorphins are similar to the drug morphine, so they may fight pain. They may also boost our moods, because they’re chemicals that also relate to eating, drinking, sex, and maternal feelings.

When we exercise, we’re doing something positive for ourselves. Knowing that we’re making progress may make us feel better about ourselves and improve our self-esteem.

If we feel better about ourselves, we may be eager to continue to exercise to prolong these feelings. We may be less likely to do things that may derail this progress.

Exercise breeds positivity, which spurs further positivity, more exercise, and other constructive habits. Such habits and exercise generate further positivity, and so on.

While we often talk about breaking destructive cycles, this is one cycle we should encourage. Fitness engages, improves, and protects the mind and body in many ways.

About the author: Pamela Zuber is a writer and editor who is interested in many topics, including mental health, addiction and recovery, human rights, gender, and business.

Sources

Craft, Lynette L. and Frank M. Perna. “The Benefits of Exercise for the Clinically Depressed.” The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2004; 6(3): 104-111.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/

Domonell, Kristen. “Why Endorphins (and Exercise) Make You Happy.” CNN.com. January 13, 2016.https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/13/health/endorphins-exercise-cause-happiness/index.html

“Exercising During Cancer Treatment.” Patient and Caregiver Resources. National Comprehensive Cancer Network.https://www.nccn.org/patients/resources/life_with_cancer/exercise.aspx

Russo, Cosimo Roberto. “The Effects of Exercise on Bone. Basic Concepts and Implications for the Prevention of Fracture.” Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism. Sept.-Dec. 2009; 6(3): 223-228.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811354/

Guest Post: Back on Track - How Fitness Helps Recovery

Statistics from 2014 reveal that 

21.5 million people aged 12 or 

older had a substance 

abuse disorder that year alone. 

Over the last 25 years, the 

addiction treatment industry 

has tripled in size, currently 

raking in about $35 billion in 

annual revenue. So it seems 

that, for all the money spent 

on addiction prevention, 

addiction still hasn’t been 

prevented. Instead, it morphed into a 

business, while the failsafe way to getting 

clean has been endlessly debated.

If you are recovering from drugs and alcohol, here are some tips to 

maintaining a healthy lifestyle to help you find your way onto the 

right track to recovery.

Back on Track

Perhaps the first step in picking up the pieces of your life after an addiction 

is not so much physical as mental and emotional. People who base their 

schedules and relationships around drugs for years often feel lonely or 

rudderless once they quit. One way to overcome this sense of isolation is 

to get a support network around you. That might include family, old friends, 

or other recovering addicts.

Also, take care of yourself: Get enough sleep. Eat healthy foods such as 

fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega-3 fish like salmon. Declutter 

your life. That could mean cleaning up your apartment, throwing out clothes 

you don’t wear, cutting people who are toxic out of your life, or deleting the 

apps that you don’t use off your iPhone. Whatever steps you take, make 

sure where and how you live is light, bright, open and full of possibility.

Get a Routine

Now that you’ve begun to address your mental health, turn to how you’re 

doing physically. Drugs wear down your body and fully recovering from them 

means adopting a healthy, active routine that you keep up through the years. 

A natural midway point between attending to your mental and physical states 

could be yoga, which focuses on deep-breathing, meditation, relaxing and 

staying in tune with your body. Biking, tennis, running, baseball, basketball, 

swimming and weightlifting are all solid options, too. Pick something you 

love, because you’ll keep doing it, rather than view it as a chore. Moreover, 

physical activity has been shown to sharpen memory, lower cholesterol, 

combat inflammation and fight off type 2 diabetes.

Anger and Addiction

Mental illness and substance addiction frequently co-occur. According to the 

Journal of the American Medical Association, roughly 50 percent of people who 

suffer a serious cognitive disorder abuse drugs. Anger, meanwhile, is often 

symptomatic of a range of mental problems including mania and depression 

in bipolar disorder, among others. After you go cold turkey from drugs, many 

factors may still cause you to become angry. These might include unpaid 

debts, broken friendships, or any that anxiety you may have harbored for 

years while on drugs.

Fitness has been shown to moderate anger by releasing chemicals such as 

serotonin and dopamine in your brain. So if you’re recovering from an addiction, 

do any of the exercises listed above to relax. If you are unable to control your anger, 

decide whether competitive sports fuel your stress or not. For instance, if you know 

that losing a game of pickup basketball will upset you, you might opt to drive out 

to a forest to hike through the pine air and feel at peace.

Finding your way out of the darkness of addiction is nearly a miracle. That’s 

why it’s important to keep moving. Exercise rewires our brain and helps stave 

off depression, so we can muster the strength to keep on the track that leads 

toward recovery.

Image via Unsplash

About the Author

Molly knows what it’s like having a loved one suffering from an addiction. Through 

her writing, she offers support and advice for those with addictions and their loved 

ones. Molly writes for RecoveryHope. She’s passionate about supporting those in 

recovery and their family and friends.

Guest Post: Traveling as a Coping Strategy for Addiction Recovery

When a person suffering from addiction decides to enter recovery, they are said to be beginning a journey - one that lasts a lifetime. This journey is a long one, filled with triumphs and potentially some setbacks. The path to recovery never really ends for those with addiction issues - it’s one they must stay on their whole life. But while they are making this metaphorical journey, they can take some time to make some other, more tangible journeys as well. Travel has an immense healing effect and is a wonderful tool for those in recovery. Here’s why.

Travel as healthy escapism

When you have an addiction, you are practicing unhealthy escapism. You drink or do drugs in order to escape from your daily life - your pain, depression, anxiety, work stresses, or family problems. The fact that we all need to find ways to take breaks from the daily stresses of life isn’t unhealthy in and of itself - it’s the method that’s unhealthy.

Travel can be that bridge toward a healthier form of escape. Day-to-day life is hard for anyone - but especially for those on a recovery path. We all need a break, and travel can provide this “escape” in a healthy, productive way. You’re not running from your problems, you’re simply taking a break to gain some perspective.

Get some perspective

Addiction is suffocating. When battling dependency on a substance, it can seem like all that you know is your addiction - everything else in the world is blurry or faded. Part of recovery is understanding that there is so much more to the world than you, your addiction, and your problems. One of the best ways to gain some perspective on your own life is to travel. When you visit other places, it’s nearly impossible not to see yourself as a small part in a large human play. With addiction, the world is small. With travel, the world is large and full of possibilities. Expanding one’s worldview is a crucial element of recovery.

Mental rejuvenation

If you’re in recovery, the chances are you’ve seen some very hard times in recent memory. Addiction takes the fun out of life. Recovery is discovering that there is fun and beauty in a sober lifestyle. Travel gives us the perfect opportunity for this mental rejuvenation.

When you travel, it’s a constant source of inspiration. You meet new people, see amazing sights, try delicious food, and learn about culture and history. You have experiences that you didn’t even know existed. At its core, travel is simply a lot of fun. Having sober fun is vital when it comes to lifting your spirits and giving you an emotional boost to continue down your recovery path. Feelings of depression are one of the most common issues people have in recovery (as addiction and depression are a vicious cycle), and travel may not “cure” this but it certainly helps you to understand that there are things in this world to be excited about. In this, way, travel has quite the healing power.

In the end, traveling not only expands your horizons, lets you discover new, exciting things, and gives you some time to mentally rejuvenate - it also grounds you. Spending time away from your friends, family, and job often illuminates why these things are so important to you. Sober travel is tough, as we associate traveling with wild times (and a lot of drinking). It may be smart to make sure you’re firmly on your recovery path before you venture out on an adventure, but once you are there’s no reason you shouldn’t experience new things. You can get away for some perspective but still stay connected to home (literally).

Henry is the co-creator of FitWellTraveler. The site blends two of his favorite subjects (travel and health) to provide readers with information about how to get the most out of both. Mr. Moore starts every day by looking at photographs of past travel, making plans for future travel, and committing to one new healthy goal. He enjoys travel, running, swimming and baking. His favorite place in the world is Venice, Italy. The next place on his list to visit is: Fernando de Noronha in Brazil.

Photo Credit

Is there a connection between Substance Abuse and Mental Illness? - Guest Post

One of the basic truths of addiction and mental illness is that they occur together.  As a professional, that was obvious to me.  When I worked in impatient treatment settings, I was exposed to that over and over.  In one memorable case, I watched as a patient detoxed from pretty serious drug and alcohol use....and started to act exactly like Maxine.  From the anger and the lack of willingness to bathe all the way to the fact that she would avoid treatment activities.  As a matter of fact, she would do exactly what Maxine would do.  She sat in the patient break room smoking cigarettes and staring off into the distance for hours on end.  For me, that was the clearest view I have ever had about the relationship between substance abuse and mental illness. I saw the connection between substance abuse and mental illness in most of  my clients.  While I'm not a doctor, I did work with them.  And being relatively familiar with what mental illness looks like, personally and professionally, I am capable of making an educated guess.  Especially since most of my jobs provided me with access to medical assessments.

The other question is, what came first, the chicken or the egg?  Does a person start to abuse drugs and alcohol because of existing mental illness?  Or does the underlying mental illness occur because of the drug use? That is an issue for the doctors to determine.  My interest in this is with the result.  When someone is 'self-medicating' a mental illness, recovery is even more complex.  It means that the person will have even more roadblocks to maintaining sobriety.  Just say NO won 't work.  That is why I believe that quality mental health care is an important part of the recovery process.

Thankfully, I haven't personally experienced the complications of a dual-diagnosis.  My problems with treating my depression are more likely to be connected to not wanting to take drugs.  Even drugs that are likely to help me.  But I really do 'get' the complexity of recovery from addiction combined with serious mental illness.  I also think that true understanding about addiction AND mental illness are enabled by understanding the relationship.  So, as part of that, I am very interested in examining the connection.  I am also interested on using that education to talk with you.  So we can begin to recognize and fight stigma.  Together.  Let me know what you have experienced regarding the relationship between mental illness and substance abuse.  And how that relationship impacts efforts to recover.  What has helped you or your loved one?  Or are you still struggling?  I look forward to hearing your story.

By Judy Schwartz-Naber