this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2024
200 points (97.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27006 readers
1303 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Just a simple question to those of you suffering from depression, anxiety or are just going through a tough time. Now or sometime in the past.

Have you tried exercising, and did it help? What kind, and how did it make you feel?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Absolutely YES. I hate running but it works better for anxiety than anything, in terms of immediate relief. Just put on your shoes and run. Get exhausted and your mind will relax. Power yoga has helped over the longer term, but is not as quick, it's more like prevention.

Dancing is hella therapeutic as well, can really help you bring up and process emotions, and if you can do it to exhaustion, works like running does but with the added advantage of engaging your mind while doing it, so you don't think as much.

I have relied on exercise to manage anxiety for about 30 years now. It does absolutely work.

ETA: I don't know if it would help depression and it didn't solve my mom's bipolar issues, she was always fit. Nothing is magic. But for 'simple' anxiety I have not found anything to work better than physical exercise to exhaustion. Get tired, sleep better, feel more relaxed and grounded.