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Top Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

The popular benefits of exercise are weight loss and maintaining one’s weight. But exercise goes far beyond physical health. Working out and being active daily can be very beneficial to mental health. If you’re looking to better your mental health and overall well-being, then exercise will become a vital tool:

Stress Relief

Day after day, new challenges and responsibilities begin to weigh us down. This can cause immense stress and drain begin to drain you. When stress is built up, one of the most effective ways to relieve stress is by exercising. Even if a demanding schedule is what is weighing into your stress, it’s easy to take the time to go for a walk or take a bike ride around the neighborhood. Setting aside a time in the day to be active helps to shut off your brain for a bit and focus on something other than daily responsibilities.

Decrease Depression

According to studies, exercise has been shown to decrease depression. It was found that exercise can treat moderate depression just as effectively as antidepressant medication, but luckily without the side-effects. Exercise combats against depression by releasing a chemical called endorphins that are known to boost mood. It also reduces inflammation in the brain and promotes neutral growth. Much like being distracted from daily stresses in your life, exercise can also be a great distraction from any negative thoughts or emotions.

Confidence Boost

As mentioned before, exercise can help to lose or maintain weight. This can lead to feeling much more confident and feeling really great about yourself. Whether its improved endurance or weight loss, it can leave you feeling much more confident. Even if it’s just slight changes from clothes fitting a little looser, running a mile without stopping, or other slight changes in your body, this helps to feel good about yourself and puts you in a healthier mindset. More confidence encourages a healthy mind.

Sleep Benefits

Lack of sleep can cause major mental health issues. Many people, especially in adulthood, struggle to fit in a good night’s sleep. A great way to sleep better is by exercising more. Although exercise has a reputation for boosting energy, it also is the key to getting more sleep. It’s been found that being active and daily exercise helps regulate circadian rhythm, which controls how tired you feel and when to feel alert. Sleep is without a doubt imperative to mental and physical health.

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

There are many different types of therapy. With so many kinds of diagnosis and conditions, there is a need for these different kinds of therapies. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive therapy and provides clients with new skills on how to manage painful emotions and minimize conflict in their relationships. DBT focuses on mindfulness, dealing with stress, regulate emotions, and healthy communication with others.

When to Use

Originally used as therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder, it is now used to treat depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, PTSD, and substance abuse. For patients that are struggling with self-destructive behavior, DBT can help improve their ability to regulate their emotions. Patients will be able to tolerate distress and negative emotions, become more aware of the present moment and effectively communicate with others.

How it Works

Patients working with DBT treatment must learn how to focus on the present, tolerate a crisis, assert themselves in a positive relationship, and recognizing negative emotions while also knowing how to cope with them. When implementing DBT treatment, patients typically will go through individual therapy sessions as well as DBT skills groups.

In the individual therapy sessions, patients will talk one-on-one with their therapist to keep them motivated, ensure their DBT skills are being used in their daily lives, and help them through any challenges they may face during the treatment. In DBT skills groups, they’re able to find support from others and share their own experiences. Groups meet weekly or monthly to learn new skills and participate in exercises. The therapy sessions are to make sure all of their therapeutic needs are being met and that the DBT treatment is working to improve their daily lives.

DBT Therapists

In order for DBT to have a positive effect on the patients, the therapist running the treatment has to be qualified. Knowledge on the subject is not the only factor that will make a therapist qualified, they must also practice the skills of DBT themselves. It is also imperative for therapists to understand the basics of behavior therapy techniques and DBT treatment strategies. When a patient seeking DBT treatment, it’s important to find a therapist with specialized training and extensive experience in DBT.

DBT has been proven to be very effective among patients with self-destructive behavior. Once patients are able to find a therapist they feel comfortable with and make a commitment to their therapy, DBT has been shown to improve their relationships, communication, and emotional state.