Ideas for Exercises for Mental Health

When it comes to exercise, the physical benefits are well-documented, from lowering blood pressure and your risk of some diseases to improving your physical appearance.

Increasingly, the spotlight is being shone on the mental health benefits of working out, such as boosting your mood, improving sleep and easing symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.

Science backs this up. One study found that increasing your activity levels from doing nothing, to exercising at least three times a week, reduces the risk of depression by up to 30 per cent. Another study found that individuals who engaged in exercise had 43% lower self-reported 'poor mental health' days than those who did not.

Despite the benefits, statistics show only 65.5 per cent of men and 54 per cent of women in the UK meet the daily recommended physical activity levels. The Department of Health recommends that adults should be active daily and complete at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week.

However, this does not necessarily mean slogging it out at the gym (unless you want to) – there are plenty of ways to move your body and boost your mind.

Here are six types of workouts that could improve your mental health.

1. Running (or walking)

If you need motivation to get moving, the 'runner's high' – the clarity and expansion one feels after a jog or sprint session – should do the trick.

'Outdoor exercise or eco-therapy can be particularly beneficial and research suggests it can actually be as effective as antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression,' says Mind Information Manager, Rachel Boyd.

Two 2007 studies commissioned by MIND revealed that 94 per cent said outdoor activities including running and walking had benefited their mental health, so for best results avoid the treadmill.

Melanie McKay took up running two years ago to lose weight, but now continues for the mental health benefits, as well as the community she's met through joining a group.'Running calms me almost instantly. I have a fairly busy mind, but also one prone to some pretty dark thoughts,' says McKay.

'When I'm running I've got time to think things over, analyse, understand, and process. It's amazing to have something so simple to focus on which has such an impact. I'm so much happier as a runner.'

2. Boxing

The rumours that hitting a punchbag releases stress and anger is true. Finding an outlet for aggression can be both empowering and healing. Short, sharp 'rounds' of punching, followed by rest, results in an intense interval session, which releases endorphins.

If you 'spar' with another boxer you can achieve 'flow', in which you are focussed solely on the task at hand/present moment; a state that everyone from Buddhist monks to Olympic athletes champion.

Boutique boxing classes are popping up everywhere, but local amateur boxing clubs are also a cost effective way of releasing the rage safely.

3. Pilates

The mental health benefits of Pilates often get overlooked because of the traditional focus on Pilates for back health and core strength.

'Joseph Pilates (Pilates' founder), believed so strongly in the connection between physical and mental health, he originally called his system of exercise 'Controlology', ie the control of the body with the mind,' says Karen Laing, a Pilates Instructor who has battled anxiety.

'Learning the skill of Pilates and focusing on technique and how your body feels while in a class is a very mindful activity,' she says. 'Pilates is brilliant for stress reduction and relaxation and great for Alpha types since there's no competitive element! Aside from the feelings of wellbeing from moving and mobilising your body, its focus on breathing and relaxation can help to switch on the body's parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for sleep and relaxation.'

4. Yoga

One of the main reasons yoga helps us create better mental health is that it integrates body and mind, although it also works well when incorporated with talking therapy and meditation.

'It's a bit of paradox – yoga looks like it's surface level but works deeply,' says Toni Roberts, a yoga therapist specialising in mental health issues. 'For everyone, particularly people who find it difficult or too scary to sit and look at their own mind, yoga can be a gateway to helping understand what they need physically mentally and emotionally. The continued focus on the breath brings yogis into the present moment and instigates a parasympathetic response from our nervous systems (responsible for 'rest and digest' and helping us calm down).'

These days there are many types of yoga and all contain the fundamental belief that we must balance our yin and yang (our more gentle and forceful energies) and work with our bodies to create holistic health and wellbeing.

5. Spin classes

These days, spin studios are more like nightclubs, with strobe lighting, bespoke playlists and sometimes even choreographed routines to make fitness fun, bringing participants into the present moment so they can leave their worries behind while they burn off anxiety via their pedals.

London's Boom Cycle founder Hilary Rowland is keen to ensure members' emotional and mental health improves as much as their physical fitness. She is only too aware of exercise's impact on the brain. 'Regular exercise encourages neurogenesis which is the growing of new brain cells' says Rowland. 'This allows us to focus better and learn quicker - plus exercising gives you an energy boost and the more energy you have the more productive you are!'

6. Resistance training

Lifting weights or bodyweight exercises can have a huge impact on how you feel and look; building muscle and self-esteem as well as curbing anxiety.

Recent research shows that low-moderate intensity resistance training produces a reliable and robust decreases in anxiety, but there's also evidence to show it helps improve cognition and may improve the functioning of your central nervous system (which has a big impact on mood and fatigue levels).

Karen Tippett took up resistance training sessions in Kent – working with kettlebells and her bodyweight to perform - when her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. 'It was a time where it was necessary to keep going, keep focused and stay composed when I felt (and was) powerless and was constantly anxious,' she says.

'Using kettlebells with a trainer made me feel physically strong and this helped me to be emotionally present and grateful for the time left with Dad. As I could feel my physical strength increase, I became bolder mentally throughout the cancer journey. Since we lost Dad the Kettlebells classes have provided an amazing support from the ladies in the class and left me with a (safe) exhaustion level that has switched my mind and thoughts off enough for me to sleep.'

Written by Lucy Fry and featured on netdoctor.co.uk

New technologies can help maintain mental health in times of crisis

For mental health services in Edmonton and online, please seek more information from our friends from Around The Corner Counselling

Over the past few weeks, there has been a considerable and unprecedented increase in awareness of the importance of mental health. In fact, no mental health awareness campaign has ever had as much impact as the one sparked by the COVID-19 crisis.

Nearly four billion people are confined to their homes, voluntarily or compulsorily, and are more prone to stress, anxiety, fear, sadness, frustration, irritability and anger. Government leaders talk about mental health almost every day at their news briefings.

“It’s normal to feel anxious or stressed,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at one briefing, before thanking mental health professionals who provide services at a distance.

Two days earlier, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said he had experienced several episodes of depression in his lifetime.

The social relevance of digital technologies in mental health has never seemed so great, whereas just a few weeks ago, e-mental health was a subject reserved for experts and technophiles.

Today, there is widespread mobilization to accelerate innovation and research in this field. This is evident by announcements from the Government of Manitoba, the federal government and the American Psychological Association. It’s unexpected, but it’s good news, because telepsychotherapy, for example, is lagging behind telemedicine.

A young but promising field

E-mental health is an area of research and intervention that emerged in the early 2000s. Telepsychotherapy is the best known form, but this field is vast and also includes access to medical information, co-ordination of care pathways, prevention and follow-up applications, self-care or mutual aid online. In short, everything that can be done with digital technologies to provide mental health care and information can be linked to e-mental health.

This does not mean replacing psychiatrists and psychologists with artificial intelligence systems, or abandoning face-to-face meetings for virtual consultations. Rather, the challenge is to harness the potential of digital technologies to improve access to care or effectiveness of treatment, particularly where conventional approaches are poorly accessible, failing, saturated or absent.

As noted by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, e-mental health services are a complementary solution to traditional care. For example, there are science-based digital services to detect and manage stress (iSmart), overcome insomnia (Sleepio), support the self-management of mood disorders (Aller mieux à ma façon), or mitigate the impact of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia through virtual reality (Centre Axel).

These types of digital mental health services offer novel non-pharmacological approaches, provided they are based — like those mentioned above — on proven research protocols.

Issues of credibility and trust

There are thousands of mental health mobile phone applications but very few have been scientifically validated. The supply is confusing and varied and the effectiveness of these applications is often difficult to evaluate. Added to this are concerns about privacy and security, lack of availability or lack of information disseminated to the public.

The capacity of new technologies to have a large-scale impact is very real, but it has not yet taken off. Very few e-mental health services meet the following four quality criteria: scientific validation, user experience, data privacy and security, and economic viability of the service.

For example, the mobile applications offered by mental health start-ups are often very user-experience oriented but have little scientific and ethical validation. Conversely, applications developed by clinical researchers are highly clinically and ethically relevant, but neglect user experience and commercialization.

The teleconsultation issue

The glaring lack of telemental health solutions specifically adapted to the practice of psychiatric care means the available telemedicine services will have to meet most of the demand, especially in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

Psychologists or psychotherapists who wish to offer their services remotely have little choice but to use these generic telemedicine or videoconferencing services. In the absence of alternatives adapted to mental health, professional associations in the sector such as the American Psychological Association in the United States or the Ordre des psychologues du Québec must rely on these. But telepsychotherapy is not telemedicine, and solutions specific to mental health are needed.

In a face-to-face consultation, in fact, psychologists’ offices do not resemble medical spaces at all. As my colleague Francis Levasseur has clearly shown, psychologists’ offices are “relationship spaces” that obey a particular style in the arrangement of furniture and objects.

This arrangement of space or design of place is fully part of the framework offered by psychologists and psychotherapists. What happens to it on a screen? How do you transpose the spirit of the practice into a digital interface? In terms of e-mental health, this is a major issue, which should not be trampled over in the urgency of the situation.

Psychotherapy is not only a treatment: it is also a user experience in which technology plays a mediating role between clinician and patient, whether online with screens and interfaces, or offline with the walls and purposefully arranged furniture.

Written by Stéphane Vial and featured on The Conversation.

How to Transition Through Change: Navigate 3 Stages

When Faced With Change, Focus On the Transition

We’ve all heard the famous quote: “Change is the only constant in life.” And we know that to be resilient, both personally and professionally, we have to face change head on and get to the other side.

Effective leaders understand that success requires more than just coping with change — and that the goal is not to “get by.” These leaders accept that change is happening; they hone strategies for dealing with the unknown; and they shift their behavior to accommodate new situations and challenges.

What’s the Difference Between Change & Transition?

To manage change, first understand that there is a difference between change and transition.

• Change is defined as the situations and occurrences that impact organizations and individuals. Change creates the need to move from the way things used to be to the way they are now, such as a new boss, a move to another location, or a shift in policy. Learn our 5 Tips for Adapting to Change.

• Transition is the internal psychological process of adapting to a new situation. Transition can happen quickly or slowly. It is the process of moving successfully from the old to the new. Here are our tips for navigating the 3 stages of transition.

Tips for Navigating the 3 Stages of Transition

Transition involves 3 stages: an ending, a neutral zone, and a new beginning, according to William Bridges, a leader in the field of change management.

Stage 1 of Transition: Accept the Ending

Let go of the past; honor and grieve the ending, but accept it. To fully experience change as an ending, try these 3 strategies:

• Admit to yourself and others that the change has occurred. Leading change by example requires honesty and authenticity.

• Actively seek information from all relevant sources. Learn more about the nature of the change without first judging it.

• Take note of what has been lost and what has been gained. Take the view that different is not right or wrong. It is just different.
  

Stage 2 of Transition: Live in the Neutral Zone

This may be the most uncomfortable transition stage. This is the time of confusion, of living with a clear ending but having no clear beginning. It is also the time for clarity to develop and point you to a new beginning. Try these 4 strategies as you navigate the neutral zone:

• Realize that uncertainty is an integral stage between an ending and a new beginning. Don’t expect to know everything or to be perfect.

• Set short-term goals to move through uncertainty. As you advance toward a new beginning, take stock of what you need to accomplish those goals and identify opportunities that will help you move forward.

• Look backward to the ending and acknowledge what you had. Look forward to the beginning and the possibilities it could create.

• Connect to your values. When you feel uncertain and confused, your personal values will provide direction.

Stage 3 of Transition: Reach Your New Beginning

Utilize the clarity that developed in the neutral zone and accept the challenge of working in a changed environment. Think of this phase as a fresh start. Try these 3 strategies as you settle into your new beginning:

• Jump right in to meet new people. As you learn the ropes, give all relevant parties a place in the new beginning.

• Create strategies for tackling new problems. When you meet new challenges, re-emphasize the reason for the change and recognize that reason as why you are beginning anew.

• Find ways to mark your success. Acknowledge small wins.

People experience organizational change in many different ways, and the process of transition will vary. As a leader, you must deal with your own personal uncertainty and resistance to change. Recognize that your process of going through endings, neutral zones, and new beginnings will affect your work and the people around you. You can learn to become a more successful change leader.

With greater awareness of the human side of transition, you and your organization will be be able to move through change with grace.

This article is provided by: www.ccl.org

Proper Breathing Brings Better Health

Stress reduction, insomnia prevention, emotion control, improved attention—certain breathing techniques can make life better. But where do you start?

In Brief

• A growing number of studies show that breathing techniques are effective against anxiety and insomnia.

• These techniques influence both physiological factors (by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system) and psychological factors (by diverting attention from thoughts).

• Because these techniques are safe and easy to use, scientific validation might result in their being more frequently recommended and practiced.

As newborns, we enter the world by inhaling. In leaving, we exhale. (In fact, in many languages the word “exhale” is synonymous with “dying.”) Breathing is so central to life that it is no wonder humankind long ago noted its value not only to survival but to the functioning of the body and mind and began controlling it to improve well-being…..

READ MORE OF THIS AMAZING ARTICLE HERE (and subscribe to SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN for more great articles)
Written By Christophe André on January 15, 2019