Hopefully, if you are reading this you are becoming increasingly confident with the connection between exercise and mental health. Brock Chisholm, former Director of the World Health Organisation famously said in 1954: “without mental health there can be no true physical health.” We have known for many years that exercise improves mental health but we talk little about the actual mechanisms by which this occurs. In this article I will detail 7 mechanisms by which exercise may assist in the prevention and support the treatment of some mental health disroders. For the purposes of this broader argument, I am referring to a wide range of issues and conditions relating to mental health including: depression disorders, anxiety disorders, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Bi-polar, Al Zheimer’s and Dementia. This also includes managing stress. This article is not intended as a cure-all for mental health. It is provided as general advice. All of our programs (in particular for individuals suffering from clinically diagnosed conditions) are prepared on an individual basis and in conjunction with specific advice from mental health professionals. My hope is that you will come to see as one psychologist put it: “that exercising when you are highly stressed should be considered as appropriate as taking a panadol when you have a headache.” Read on for the 7 theories of improved mental health through exercise:
