How Exercise is changing minds

At 4:50am, George ties his shoes and puts his earphones in. There are only three people in the Gym. George, an extremely fit young man and myself. Which is, of course, the reason George comes at this time. Just as the sun starts to peak over the horizon, visible through the open windows at the front of the gym, he steps onto the treadmill. Beep! As he turns on the machine. Even at a slow walking speed, George is no longer the overweight, anxious man he was seconds ago. No. With his music blasting in his ears, George is determined. He no longer cares about the number of people in the gym. Soon, his feet are pounding against the floor of the treadmill. Boom boom… boom boom… boom boom. For ten minutes George stares straight ahead. I’m certain if I were to ask what song he was playing he couldn’t tell me. He is totally in his own world. The gym no longer smells like cleaning detergent; it now smells of sweat and hard work. At 6:00, as the gym starts to fill, he walks out a different man to the one that walked in. In his work clothes, there is no hoodie to hide behind. Chest out, shoulders back with his chin held high, George is ready for the rest of the day and ready to make it to the next.

Every day is a struggle for George, but every time he motivates himself to get up and exercise is a victory. 30kg down and happier than ever, just a few months ago, George wasn’t doing as well.

“Exercise has changed my entire life. Close to a year ago, after years of hating myself, suffering from depression and anxiety, I made the decision to change.” George believed he knew the core of his problem was how he saw himself, so he decided to change. One day, he decided that he was going to start walking. Every day before work, George went for hour-long walks. He says “the effects were immediate. Once I got home, I was exhausted but I felt good for the first time in forever”.

“The way that exercise makes you feel, it just makes you feel good” he said, “No matter what I’m doing, there is nothing like it. It just washes everything away, for a little while at least”. George had suffered from what he now knows was depression for years. Exercise changed his life. And, while he still struggles every day, is something he hopes he will never stop doing,

“I’m in love with it. Motivating to do it is the hard part, but once you get past that it’s easy.”

As I step through the entrance of Bridges Counselling, Jazz softly hits my ears and lavender wafts into my nostrils. I am instantly relaxed. Psychologist May Shum comes to greet me, shakes my hand and leads me into her office. I follow slowly behind her, perusing the wall of motivational posters. Sitting in a chair across from her after refusing a coffee, I ask “May, if someone came to you suffering from depression and/or anxiety, what would a first session entail?”. She answers quickly, “A clients first session will always consist of introductions and general conversation. Building a relationship with my client quickly is important. I ask general questions like what they do, whether they attend and like school, do they play sport? Using these questions to find if they are happy at those places and where the problem is”.

“You mention Sport. Obviously, there are social interactions that are of importance there, but what about other benefits? Is it of interest to you if your client exercises? Is it fair to say that most clients with depression and anxiety are not leading physically healthy lifestyles?”

She sat there, leaning back in her chair, thumb and forefinger to her chin.

“Mental health issues, especially for teenagers and young adults, often relate to their self-image. While this is not always the case, it is safe to say that most clients are not exercising regularly before they come to me. In these cases, I will almost always recommend them to start some kind of daily exercise.”

John Raglin’s states in ‘Exercise and Mental Health’ that “20 to 40 minutes of aerobic activity results in improvements in state anxiety and mood that persist for several hours”. Studies show the psychological benefits associated with exercise, for those with anxiety or depression, “are comparable with standard forms of psychotherapy”.

Sitting on the hill of Charles McLaughlin Reserve, I watch Chloe finish her session with Emma, her personal trainer, with hundreds of Jumping jacks. I struggle to hear what she is saying to her client but Emma is clearly motivating her to push through the pain. As I walk closer I can hear “Come on, don’t stop. Come on Chloe, twenty more. Ten… five… 3, 2, 1”. Chloe now stands there, sweat trickling down her temple, clearly exhausted, with a huge grin on her face. The two women high five, grabbing their waters and taking a sip as they stroll over to me. Chloe is someone who at first glance seems like healthy, attractive young woman. One would never assume that she suffers terribly from depression and anxiety from her appearance.

“Hey guys, thanks for talking with me. First, Chloe, I just want to know how you’re doing.”

“Um, I’m doing pretty good. I’m lucky that I have a loving family, but I’m doing really well.”

“I know that you still suffer from Depression and anxiety but you have obviously improved. Could you explain how you’ve recovered?”

She takes a moment before answering “I hated myself. How I looked… acted. Everything. Then, when I was unmotivated to do anything, I hated myself for that too. For three months now I have been seeing a therapist weekly. He was the one who said that I might find exercise helpful and that’s when I found Emma.” She drapes her arm around the shoulders of her personal trainer come friend as she says this, smiling. “I still have the same negative thoughts when I look in the mirror but instead of going to bed and hiding myself, I’m motivated to try and better myself.”

“Your transformation is amazing and I don’t mean physically, they’re obvious and to be applauded but what has been the impact of exercise on your mental health?”

“It has been a god send. It was killer at the beginning, motivating myself but with Emma’s help and the support of my family, I couldn’t stop it now. Everytime I work out I feel better than I did. It changes my day for the better. There isn’t much more I can say.”

“So Emma, you’ve trained Chloe from the start, can you tell me about her progress?”

“I believe that it is important for people suffering with depression to have a reason to get up and do something. It just so happens that when that thing is exercise, you get other benefits. Before she got help, Chloe would go straight from school to home and sit in bed for the rest of the day. What she has been through is evidence of the impact that exercise has on your mental health. I don’t think she will ever go more than a few days without exercising because she knows how what it does for her. She has honestly been an amazing client”

George and Chloe are living evidence of the impact of exercise on those suffering Depression and Anxiety. It has been truly life changing for them and their stories should show those that are struggling that they are only one decision away from making a change to their own lives.