The Many Benefits Of Exercise For Depression Exercise For Depression Report | Page 18

effect of making things seem more manageable than they appeared to

be before.
When we practice physical exercise, we have to focus our minds on
the physical movements of the body and doing this takes our
attention away from the things that cause us mental stress.
This gives the mind a break from stressful thought patterns and
allows for a moment of respite. Many people find that after a
workout they can’t even remember what it was that they were stressed
about before exercise.
Greater Feelings Of Contentment & Calm – When performing physical
exercise, it is possible to exert yourself both physically and
mentally to a high degree. This means that we are actually able to
exhaust our mental concerns by completely exhausting their energetic
resources.
This sounds complex but can be understood simply as ‘being so
exhausted that you don’t have the energy to be concerned’. With
regards to depression, this causes the body and mind to go through a
process whereby it enters into a state of exhaustion and then
becomes reinvigorated with energy and motivation once it moves
through and beyond that state, thereby countering the feelings of
depression.
Greater Sense Of Accomplishment – Physical exercise can be grueling
and challenging. It can test a person both physically and mentally
and so when a person emerges from having spent time physically
exercising they feel a great sense of accomplishment at having made
it through.
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