Anxiety and depression can be hard to deal with. Many resort to going to the doctor to get evaluated and often times prescribed medications to help with it. That is the exact thing I did not want to do! I knew that there had to be something else that could help me, so I began to do some research and dig a little further for natural ways to help one deal with the stress and anxiety a lot of us face on a day to day basis. That’s when I was introduced to fitness and weight lifting.
What Causes Stress And Anxiety?
A major event or even a smaller buildup of events over time can cause anxiety. Take for example a death. That would be a major event. If a loved one were to pass away, that is something devastating that can drastically change your mood causing anxiety. I for one know that losing a parent of someone close to you is one of the hardest things that someone will deal with in a lifetime.
A smaller build up of events that could cause anxiety can range from a wide variety of different things. For example, work related stress, finances, school and even sometimes things that are out of our control can lead anxiety over time when some of these things are combined. We can’t ever stop these things from happening, all we can do is try our best to control the outcome and deal with them as they happen. That is the exact reason I chose to lift weights.
Wight Lifting And Why It Helps With Anxiety
Often times we find ourselves stressed out with anxiety on the rise and it can be from any of the scenarios listed above, but regardless of what caused it, it all feels the same. I’ve found that when I exercise, mainly weight lifting, I tend to feel a whole lot better and not just for that moment, but over all on a daily basis. For that reason I try to lift weights and do resistance training 5-6 days a week. I started this journey because it helped with my mental stress and anxiety but it has since turned into a passion for me. Combined with a good diet, not only will you begin to look better and be more confident but it helps so much with how you feel mentally and physically.
It can work for many reasons and I’m going to lay out a few of my personal reason as to why it helps me.
- Takes my mind off of whatever it is causing the anxiety.
- Allows me to blow off steam and release any tension I may have had.
- The physical exertion really lifts my mood.
- The long term effects helps me with my confidence allowing me to feel empowered which helps me with any challenge I may face throughout the day.
While doing a little research I ran across an article with something I found to be interesting regarding this topic that stated:
“Two new studies lend scientific credence to my experience. The first, published in 2017 in the journal Sports Medicine, found that lifting weights reduces the symptoms of anxiety. The second, published in May of this year in JAMA Psychiatry, found that lifting weights can help ease and even prevent depression. Both of these studies are particularly valuable because they are meta-analyses (comprehensive reviews of multiple experiments). In other words, these aren’t just one-off findings.” – Brad Stulberg
There are many ways for one to deal with stress and anxiety and this just happens to be one of the many ways I tend to deal with it myself personally.
I hope that this can help lead you to something that helps you as much as weight lifting has helped me because self happiness and mental well being should be at the top of every ones priority list.