Episode 48 Harnessing Movement for Anxiety and Depression Relief

A recent systematic review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine came to the conclusion that physical activity should be a mainstay approach in the management of depression, anxiety and psychological distress. In this episode I discuss this and other aspects of self-care can impact on our mental health.

It is important to understand that good mental health is not the absence of negative feelings. I discuss this in more detail and the importance of embracing the full spectrum of life and our emotions and how resilience is key.

Referencing this systematic review in the BMJ:

Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R, et al

Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews

British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:1203-1209.

Learn more about Fiona's speaking, radio and consultation services at Informed Health: https://informedhealth.com.au/

Sign up to receive our newsletter by clicking here.

Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn

Credit for the music used in this podcast:

The Beat of Nature

Music by Olexy from Pixabay

Transcript

Fiona Kane: 0:31

Hello and welcome to the Wellness Connection podcast with Fiona Kane. I'm your host, Fiona Kane. Today I'm going to be talking to you about a recent study. So there's a recent study that's been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine so the BMJ, and it's talking about the effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety, distress and overall systematic reviews. Essentially it's about exercise and what it does for mental health, what it does for your mood and for your anxiety. So that's a shorter way of saying it. So essentially this was a really, really big study. So it was a study where they let me just look at here to sort of explain what it was. So it was a study where they looked at 97, they did 97 reviews of a whole bunch of trials, so that was like over a thousand trials, thousands of participants, and so it was a really big review of all of the studies that have been done so far. And the conclusion I'll read the conclusion and then I'll discuss it. But the conclusion was that physical activity is highly beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress across a wide range of adult populations, including the general population, people with diagnosed mental health disorders and people with chronic disease. Physical activity should be a mainstay approach in the management of depression, anxiety and psychological distress. So that's it's sort of recommendations that physical activity should be recommended and any physical activity is beneficial. Anything is better than nothing. So I think it's actually just really important to bring this up, because they even they compared physical activity to medications and they found that physical activity works better than medications.

Fiona Kane: 2:34

Now I will just stop for a moment and say I'm not telling anyone to stop taking medications. In fact, I advise you don't just stop taking medications. It's quite a dangerous thing to do so. If you choose to take, to stop taking medications, you do it under your doctor's supervision. But what I would say to you is that it's just it shows you that because we think of the medication as being the cure all when exercise can be very, very helpful indeed, if not more helpful in some cases. So I think it's just important to include exercise as part of your treatment, and medication may be needed or it may not, but you bring the exercise in early on and then you work with your doctor about whether or not the medication is the right thing for you.

Fiona Kane: 3:16

But the good thing about exercise is, generally speaking, there's no bad side effects, unless you're into yourself or something like that. But that in general, just doing kind of the basic exercise is is a really good thing and I you know and it's, and for so many reasons you know. So, just besides the fact that often it means you're getting outside and you're getting some vitamin D from the sunshine we know vitamin D is really important for depression and and you're getting and you're just when we go outside like and like of course, you can do inside exercise as well. So this actually does include you know whether or not you're doing like a little workout home based on an app or whatever you're watching online, or if you're just doing some stretches every day, or if you put on your favorite song and just dance around and you're not doing anything formal. So that's already beneficial as well. So the outside bit doesn't have to be the case, but just pointing out with the outside bit, the good thing about the outside bit is you are getting, when we go outside, even looking up, we know can be really beneficial for our mood because we're looking down and we're posture. So as you just going outside and you look up and you look at the sky and you look at the clouds and, and you know, you know just the birds and the trees and the butterflies and whatever. So just something about that that just reminds us that when we're kind of alone inside and whatever, it can be very just about us when we go outside, this other people as a world out there is, where actually quite small and, you know, as part of the world, and I kind of just gives us a, I suppose, a, an ability to see that that when not the world's a bigger place, you know, get perspective, I suppose, is what I'm trying to say. So going outside is really, really beneficial. Is actually pouring rain right now. I don't know if you can hear this on the microphone or not, but just got distracted so suddenly got very dark and it's pouring rain. Talking about looking outside the sunshine, anyway. So what we know is that even just going outside and just looking out, looking at the sky and whatever, and getting amongst getting vitamin D is really great as well. As the exercise in this study was specifically looking at the exercise itself, and the exercise is no, it's the endorphins and it's you feeling strong when you do exercise and when you feel a bit fitter, you feel healthier, you feel better. But you know, when we move our body become toxins to our system. We keep our bowels going. Doing exercise uses energy, but it also gives you energy. Also, when you're doing exercise, you feel like you feel like you're showing up for yourself. You're doing your practicing self care, so you're doing something that's you know, that's that's good for you, that's the supportive of you and your health. So there's a whole bunch of Reasons to do with potentially being outdoors or whatever. There's so many reasons that add up to exercise being really, really beneficial.

Fiona Kane: 6:06

And and look, I would also say, in regards to going back to sort of the medication thing too, I've had this conversation. I remember in particular, a friend who was in trouble a few years ago and I've seen this a few times where sometimes you are so overwhelmed, there's so much going on, you are such, in such a state of I can't even think of the word. But it could be a mania, could be a just a I could just in that adrenaline state and sometimes when people are in that state, they cannot plan, they cannot do exercise or plan eating protein or what I could. It's kind of even think straight. So in that situation, obviously sometimes for people also, medication first is a good idea. Not always and it's different with everyone. And I'm not the expert on the medication, by the way, you talked to people who that that's a job is not my job, just an observation for me.

Fiona Kane: 6:58

But sometimes People do need medication just to calm them down. So sometimes if you just so overwhelmed and so you can't even think straight, then you need some sort of medication to sort of calm you down enough or straighten you out enough so that you can plan things like Food and exercise and all those things. I don't think sometimes people think, oh no, no, I've got to do the exercise and diet and this and that, whatever, because I know it's what I need to do. But If you just physically cut because your brain does one lie to, because it's so hyped up, whatever, then sometimes the solution list, the short term solution, is some sort of medication under supervision, obviously, support from from a therapist of some kind, and getting you to a place where you're calm enough and able to think straight and plan things, and then you can then sort of say I can't put these things into action. So if you're early enough and you're not in that situation, then I would suggest you put all these things in first. But if you really it's dire and you're really struggling I don't struggle more to trying to make it perfect, to put everything into place, just going to help me get some medication calm it down then you can put some things into place because you just can't do it. If you can't do it, you can't do it, that's fine.

Fiona Kane: 8:12

And the other thing to with exercise is don't get like people get caught up on or must mean I have to go to the gym or do this or do that. No, it just means move, movement right. So that can look like a million different things. That can certainly be done at home and it can certainly be about getting up and down off your chair and just, you know, holding on to the, the holding on when you do it so you don't fall or do a push up against push ups against the wall, like I said, putting your favorite song on and just dancing around the room. There's not sort of the don't get caught up on. It means 45 minutes at the gym every morning or means boot camp at 5am every day. It can mean those things absolutely, but it doesn't have to mean those things.

Fiona Kane: 8:55

And also then I have talked about this before, but I thought I would just sort of add in there is sort of a reminder, some of the other things that can that can be useful as far as helping treat your mental health. So one is a gratitude diary, certainly any, any ability to have gratitude. The more we see in the place of gratitude, the more we can feel grateful for things and we can See better for sure things or see positive things. So I know you see what you look for and if what you look for is if you're, if you're looking for opportunities, if you're looking for Proof that there's beauty in the world and it's wonderful things, you'll see that. But if you're looking for confirmation that the world's all bad and it's all going to help, you'll also see that. Because Both is there is always both things there at one time. That's the beauty or the challenge or the reality of the world. However, you can just choose to only see one and not see the other. So I think I've used the example before, but it's an example of you know, there's a disaster and we see the disaster, but we don't see the people who help the people.

Fiona Kane: 10:03

When you see later on, when you see the footage or information or documentaries, films or whatever about some disastrous, horrible thing happened. What you often see is is great stories of people, courage and, you know, like I just recently saw now I can't remember the name of the film, but so Anthony Hopkins was in this film something time to me. Anyway, it's a film about a British man during World War two who was able to get a lot of Jewish children out of. I think it was. My name, was a Poland, belgium, I can't remember now might have been Poland, but essentially he saved a whole bunch of children from what would have been a terrible fate and basically got them adopted into homes in the UK until, hopefully, after the war. Some of them might have still had family and were able to go back, and maybe many of them won't, but anyway he helped, I think, hundreds of children and, and you know, a really like World War two.

Fiona Kane: 11:08

I mean we could talk about all terrible, awful things that happened, but something of beauty like that happens, right. So so the world is always both happening, that is, terrible things and there's disastrous things, but then there's beautiful people and kind people and brave people and and just wonderful things that happened, and there's beauty in the world and there's beautiful things and there's awful things. That's all there. So what happens often when we're depressed or when we're feeling down is that we only see the negative stuff. And I'll I'll I'll include myself as well because, as anyone who knows, who's been listening to this podcast or watching this podcast, that I've had, you know, a fair bit of grief grief over a few deaths in my family and friends and things in the last few years and I have my moments. I really have my moments, and sometimes you know, I'll be out at lunch with some friends or something and I'll just later on here back what I said and what I was talking about, and I'm so depressing to be around sometimes.

Fiona Kane: 12:02

So I'm not this is not a judgment on anyone, that's just the way it is that when we, when we have a lot of negative things or things that we perceive as negative, or just we're having a tough time of it, or all sorts of things, we we can end up just only seeing bad and and it's just a reminder like just to start to hear yourself to and and to look for something good. And it may need lots of therapy and medication and lots of things. Depends on what's going on for you and why you're feeling that way. But but, yeah, it is important to look for beauty, look for good things, because good things do happen and there's heroes in situations, not just bad guys. So it's just look for those things in the world, look for proof that there's. You know there's those things in the world because it is there. If you look for it, you will find it.

Fiona Kane: 12:49

Also, just things like a connection. Connection is so important making friends and and finding the right friends for you and understanding that sometimes there are seasons in life and so there are seasons jobs. There might be seasons for friendships and relationships. Sometimes these things change. But so, if you don't have a friend circle at the moment, either reconnect with an old circle or connect with someone new or go to some sort of group or some sort of interest group. But come, you know connections really important and when you go out and talk to other people and realise this other people that experience same things as you it can be really good, as long as your group is.

Fiona Kane: 13:29

Yeah, some groups, some of the groups I've seen on Facebook that I've gone into, are super negative. So if you're in a group, that's just all about let's just all be victims forever and we can't be responsible for anything in our lives. It's all just happened to us and that's all. Just sit here and be victims. I don't think that's a good group. You can certainly all talk about your tough time and how hard it is, and I've anyone who's watched and seen any of my stuff will know that I talk about the importance of having a moment of being a victim, like it is okay to feel really awful, to feel really bad and to feel like you're a victim and it's not fair and all of those things. That's absolutely valid. I just don't recommend that people live there. It's an experience you have, it's a feeling that you have and you work through it or you get help to work through it, but you just don't live there forever, that's all. So it's not that it's not valid to have those feelings and experiences. It's just not helpful to live there. You can choose to, but it's really not helpful and it doesn't really make for a happy and healthy life.

Fiona Kane: 14:27

The other thing that I wanted to mention as well there's a couple of things in regards to terms and terminology. So I was listening to a podcast this morning and I. There was a psychologist on that podcast and she. She said that I might not get it exactly right I won't name her in case I'm sort of getting it slightly wrong but the essence of what she said was that mental good mental health is not the absence of feeling bad feelings, or feeling bad or sad feelings or something along those lines. It's not the absence of difficulty. So good mental health is not the absence of anything bad happening or any difficulty in your life or any difficult feelings, and it's not it's and so good mental health isn't happiness.

Fiona Kane: 15:16

So because a lot of people they get confused about what good mental health is and they think that if you have good mental health, that must mean that you're just happy all the time and you never have any challenges and you never have bad feelings or bad thoughts or feel bad or anything like that. That's simply not true. So good mental health is not whether or not you ever have any of those feelings, it's how you manage them. So if you feel enraged and angry, good mental health is when you know how to work through those feelings and not going out and smashing someone. So good mental health is when you have an argument with someone or a debate or a discussion and you're able to walk away and kind of go hey, we disagree, but that's fine and you're not taking it personally and you're not getting all aggro about them and you're not those things.

Fiona Kane: 16:05

That's one that I've had challenges with over the years. I will admit I get very excitable in different debates and things and sometimes I've had learning and I've had to learn how to kind of just cool down and calm down and just be okay that other people have a different opinion. I can find that hard sometimes and it's just again admitting that some things I have challenges with we're all flawed. We're human beings, we're flawed and it's not so much it's not me kind of thing, sort of diagnosing that and turning it into a pathology. It's just me recognizing some things about myself and being aware and working through that and learning how to do that better.

Fiona Kane: 16:41

So the truth is that having good mental health is just about how you manage life, because the truth is that, like I was talking about before, good and bad things are in life. Good and bad things happen in life. Life is a mixture of lots of things and it can be really really tricky and it can be hard to find your way in it and things change and you have traumatic experiences or grief experiences or failures and whatever. But you also can have success and you can have love and you can have fun and you can be curious and you can learn and you can all the different things. It's just that, it's all there. Life is all of the things and I think it's when you good mental health, is one, just knowing that. That it's all of the things. It's all of the things you know, succeeding or failing, it's just wherever you are in the. You know, I think my mentor Shandu, who's been on the podcast before, we talk about it being snakes and ladders, and life is like that. It literally is a game of snakes and ladders.

Fiona Kane: 17:46

So you'll kind of be doing really well and you'll be really pleased with yourself and, oh, I'm so evolved and I'm so healthy, and then you're not, because something happens that absolutely reminds you that you're not as evolved as you thought you were and all you know. Life just happens and it just brings you down. And you know, I know that, certainly that and some of these things it just seems you have just no control over. And then suddenly just something, a terrible event happens or a really upsetting event or whatever it is, and it really knocks you over, knocks you through six and it can take you, you know, days, weeks, months, years to get, really get back up again, depending on the situation, depending on you. So you know, life is is just, life is all the things and it's all of the colors and it's all of the shades, and so, you know, good mental health is actually understanding that it's an ex, accepting that, just an acceptance of it is what it is. That is just how life is.

Fiona Kane: 18:46

And rather than getting again to like, rather than getting too judgmental about what stage you're at and this is another one for me it's like oh, I should have been over this five, six years ago. How could? I'm still going on about this thing. I'm really like, I annoy myself sometimes because I feel like I haven't gotten past something or moved on from something or learned something or achieved whatever it is. I get really frustrated with myself, but I'm learning. You know, a lot of it's about just accepting the process and accepting where you're at. And if you're up where you're at, that's where you're at now and certainly you can work on moving forward. But part of moving forward is also just an acceptance of where you are right now and now we can get really frustrated with that or ourselves or the situations. That it is what it is. And so having that acceptance, knowing that it is what it is it doesn't mean there's nothing you can do, but having acceptance of where it is now and doing what you can to move forward as you can, at whatever speed you're able to, depending on what resources you have around you, and learning how to roll with it rather than being thrown around all over the place.

Fiona Kane: 19:54

And actually one of the examples, or one of the to picture this in your mind again referring back to my mental Shandu, is she talks about being in your boat or being outside of your boat. And if you think of you and your life and that you have this boat that you travel in and we've all got our own boats, it doesn't mean we can't connect up with each other's boats or you know we've about, but essentially we've got our own boat and what often happens is we end up outside of the boat, so we fall out, or we get out to go and rescue someone over there or whatever, but we end up outside of the boat and then we wonder what? We're just getting thrown around everywhere and we've got to remember to just get back inside our boat and part of that is just to know what's yours and what's not and to know what you can control and what you can't. And really the boat a lot of the boat analogy is around self care. So it's around, you know, eating protein and eating plenty of veggies and drinking plenty of water and the exercise that I was talking about before the movement, and it might be meditation or relaxation or, you know, going and having therapy or whatever it is that you need to do, no-transcript Self-care and making sure you get enough sleep, all of those things. So getting back in your boat, a lot of it is around just like it's kind of Grounding yourself speed. We need a boat analogy but it's practicing their self care and getting back into the self care routine and looking after yourself, and some people need more than others. They really need to practice a hell of a lot of self care to stay okay and and some people need more like, at different times we might need more than others. Certainly there's times running a lot more than really good. Focus on it needs to be my main focus and there's other times where I can Not be quiet as focus on it, but I can't completely let go of self care because things fall apart pretty quickly for me, physically and emotionally actually. So, you know, mental health is kind of more about learning to roll with it. Learning to kind of roll, you know, rather than getting dumped by every wave. It's kind of going with it, as you know, and then kind of working out what we're to from here.

Fiona Kane: 22:01

And even just the word mental health, because I was looking at the definition of mental health, because when you say mental health, people often think mental health means like a mental, like there's something wrong with you. I'm like and I know that's a very judgmental saying that I, but I'm just a statement of how, how people relate to a certain word. So I'm not saying that people are mental or whatever. But yeah, I think you understand what I'm saying. Forgive me for how I've just said that, but they just relate the word mental health to being meaning that something wrong. Alright, which is better way of saying what I just said.

Fiona Kane: 22:33

And essentially, mental health, and just reading a definition here, it's a person's condition with regard to this psychological and emotional, emotional well being, and a big part of you know assessments when you are assessing, diagnosing people with mental health issues. It's not whether or not they have certain thoughts and feelings, it's also how they deal with them, how they manage them. So so, yeah, the word mental health is just talking about your how you're managing life, essentially emotionally, and and we get better mental health when we practice lots of self care and we learn how to go with it more than, rather than, fight against it, because life is life and it's thanks and letters and stuff happens. So the more that you learn to sort of go with it and go with the flow. Go with the flow doesn't mean you can't make decisions along the way and take different Turns and whatever, but it just means that sometimes, if you're on that wave and it's like you can't get off, what you need to do is just protect yourself till it lands to your land on shore and then the next step. So sometimes you just can't control that or how long that's going to go for, because that is life sometimes.

Fiona Kane: 23:41

So so anyway, getting back to the beginning of this is just the effectiveness effectiveness of moving your body in regards to your mental health, anxiety for, for depression and all of that I just cannot emphasize enough please move your body and if you need support, help around that, see a health professionals, so whether or not it's an exercise physiologist or your physio or personal trainer but if you need to sort of see someone to help around it because you have issues around that or Issues with your ability or your function or whatever, then just get support around what that might look like for you.

Fiona Kane: 24:19

I think anything is better than nothing, so rather than kind of throwing the baby out the bathroom so I can't do this, so I can't do it. So well, again, I've talked about this before, but it's what can you do and maybe need advice around that, and it's fine, get professional advice. Anyway, I hope that this is helped point out to you a little bit more about mental health, the way we look at it and what we can do to support our mental health, and just really emphasize to you the importance of the studies say it over and over again and this is a big study looked at the whole lot the importance of moving your body movement in regards to managing your mental health and having good mental health. Anyway, I will leave it at that. Please remember to like, subscribe, share and if you're on rumble or YouTube, you're welcome to comment as well, and and I will see you all again next week. Thank you, bye.