Does exercise really make that much of a difference?

[Killashandra]

Hi,

I've tried exercise twice now to see how it would help me, the first time it was mostly stretching and the occasional walk. I did feel better mentally and phsyically, but I stopped when I had to push further to gain the same amount of satisfaction. I self sabotaged as well in the forms of over eating the wrong food.

This time, I have a goal in mind. I have increased walking and am aiming to walk the 10000 steps each day. I have integrated upper body exercise into my routine, I have a walking trail right across the road and it has crossways, I start my routine with warm up to the shelter, then stretch my leg muscles then walk to which ever Crossway I have chosen that day, each have a different distance, then I do standing up push ups and bicep curls, I do squats and then turn and walk back.

I have stuck with this one for longer and I see the benefit, the physical benefit not so much, but the mental benefit. I look forward to MY time as I'm stuck at the house, it clears my thoughts out and allows me to experience the world. Not people.
It allows me to try and think clearly without distraction.

Any hoo that's my two Bob

All the best Killa

 

[City Slicker]

Yes.

Also the science exists to explain the ways in which exercise and movement aids the body. More science is accumulating specifically on physical movement and the amelioration of PTSD symptoms.

Lots of good suggestions already here so I won't add on but here's a thread in case you are wanting to join in with others into various forms of working out - wishing you good luck.

Log Your Daily Exercise

 

[anthony]

I have increased walking and am aiming to walk the 10000 steps each day.

Nice. That is my daily achievement. I don't use a wrist tracker or such, just my phone, which I carry on my morning walk and usually when I go out. I average 9 - 13k steps daily, maintaining a 10k average overall, as I usually take one day off a week where I only walk a few thousand steps, so the other six days of the week makeup for that.

 

[Deadman]

Like others here I have found regular exercise to be very helpful in dealing with PTSD. There are a lot of scientific studies that link exercise and better cognitive function, improved mood, etc. It doesn't need to be excessive either. You can start with simple walks and move to more challenging exercise as you progress.

Short version - get off your butt and move :)

 

[DharmaGirl]

get off your butt and move

I agree. I made my yard into a mini farm, with herb, veggie and flower gardens, and have chickens. I heat my house with wood, and I'm very poor, since the insurance company I paid to provide long term insurance if I became disabled dropped me, even though I got SSDi in 4 months. Since I am poor, I look on Craigslist for downed trees, take my chainsaw and cut them up for firewood. I have 1 8 x 10 coop, and 2 smaller coops that need regular cleaning and upkeep, as well as taking care of the animals. I weed and plant and mow. I'm pretty active in my daily living, which makes me happier than having an exercise program.

I do love to swim, can't afford the pool fees, but that's ok. I love farming too. If you add movement to your day, it counts as exercise.

 

[Mach123]

Yes it really helps me. I exercised on and off all my adult life. This time I started in the house, then running, now the gym. It is a medication for me, it affects me that much. It is bodywork also. I do not know how to explain this exactly. I just know that the trauma is stored in the body and exercise helps this somehow. I know I am hooked on it or I wouldn't be able to do it. I also know I disassociate while I do it which I like and look forward to. I don't understand this either. I use the YMCA. Going to that place has saved me in so many ways. I know if I could film myself that you could see the trauma by watching me exercise. I can see it in some of the other people there. This bothers me but I still go. I had to give up jogging because of the dogs and cars and stuff. Plus I really don't like running and walking even less. After about a year and a half of working out hard and not losing weight like most people at the gym, I went on a diet and lost fifty pounds. It's all one hundred percent mental for me. Good luck I hope you do it.

 

[MrMoonlight]

Does anyone here exercise on a regular basis? Do you notice how well it works for you, if at all, f...

It can help imo. I walk 5 or 6 days a week, nothing crazy just 30 min but it gives me the start of a routine which I think is good. When I get anxious or that friggin internal conversation is too much, I walk...or that's my goal should I remember. It really helped the other day..calmed me down...put me into a bit of a trance...maybe the rhythm of the walk or sound...don't know and don't care too much as it really did help.

Git it a go yourself, nothing to lose.

 

[ms spock]

Does anyone here exercise on a regular basis? Do you notice how well it works for you, if at all, for reducing symptoms?

I want to get back in shape and lose weight (healthily) anyway, but I have heard so many people say that exercising was helpful to their mental illness and the symptoms.

Can anyone vouch for this?

Yes! There is so much literature out there about how this assists with everything from digestion, cognitive abilities, to us PTSDers. One book that I have read is "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Der Kolk.

I use a range of exercise strategies and exercise forms. On Sunday I went walking and kayaking for an hour. Monday I went walking for an hour. Yesterday I went to an hour of yoga class. Today I went for a dog walk, did 45 minutes of Mindful Movement.

Tonight I have a Pilates class before I head off to a meditation class.

I would suggest to start out with walking 5 minutes away from your place and 5 minutes back, twice per day and build up a minute as fast as is comfortable for your body. Chose one form of exercise that is easy for you and one form that is not so easy. That way you can practice building up distress tolerance. Don't overdo it, and injure yourself by building up too quickly. Warm up and cool down for all exercises.

I also have done Tai Chi, Qi-Gong, Shibashi, swimming and individual walking. I find walking in nature or exercising in nature really soothing for me. I do Pilates at home - mat and ball work. I do yoga at home as well. I have to do some exercise every day to manage my high level of cortisol, anxiety, ruminations, intrusive maladjusted day dreaming, distorted cognitions, dissociation, derealisation, depersonalisation, panic, nightmares and waking with panic attacks. When I do 4 hours of physical exercise per day I do manage a lot better. I am building up again.

Doing exercise in a group can be a good motivator. I joined a walking group and walk two-three mornings a week with them from 5.30am until 6.30am. I have other friends that I walk with sporadically throughout the fortnight. We also dance together, and try out other classes. Even if we go out socially we try to incorporate some type of physical movement. Last Monday night I went with one of my early morning walking buddies to L.O.A.D (Lights Out and Dance) and that was brilliant. One hour of non stop dancing was so therapeutic for me. I really enjoyed it. So now the people I exercise with or meditate with we go to other exercise classes of different styles of exercise to mix it up a little. I also have disco balls at home and I often hit one of them, get them spinning, and literally dance to a couple of disco songs. I need to get back into doing that more. I also walk the dog, but not every day at the moment. I try not to sit for more than 15 minutes, so I either stretch in my chair or lie on the ground or move around.

People think I am a health nut, but really I am trying to stop freezing and fawning. The discipline of exercising is really important for me. Mindfulness has been even a bigger component of my recovery, until I realised how much doing yoga or mindful movement helps to settle my parasympathetic nervous system before doing meditation or Mindfulness. I am improving in every arena in my life at this time, and that is to do with the exercise types, and other routines I have in place. It took a long time to build up to what I am doing now. I find it harder to get up in the morning when it is dark, but I am making myself go. I could never have recovered without exercise. I would not have become present in my body enough to know what is going on for me. Still challenged in that area, but improving.

You need to make it part of your daily routine to get it to stick and to get yourself to do it daily. Then you end up like me see a work colleague and then heading of to yoga with everyone. There is a good book I read about that. I will try to find it and put the title in here.

Now that I type this out it does occur to me that I am doing a lot for my recovery.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@Disco Dancing Queen While I can appreciate all of the exercise that you do, for many people 4 hours a day is unobtainable. You must not have a job or family members to be able to spend that much time exercising.

I wonder too if exercise has become a way of avoiding?

 

[anthony]

for many people 4 hours a day is unobtainable

Probably... but for others, it is. :D Different sides for viewing.

A neighbour, in her 40's I think, works, studies a degree part time, and spends the rest of each day doing yoga. Rinse and repeat. When study is finished each Semester, yoga gets more time in her day. She was doing yoga 6 hrs some days... and work.

I think its just each lifestyle is different. Some work and fall over when they get home. Others work and exercise. Others work and socialise. So forth. All are obtainable, it just depends on your lifestyle choices.

Me personally, I prioritise 2 hrs of exercise daily, bare minimum. Everything else waits, the majority of the time. Just my priorities, as exercise does me the most good mentally and physically. If I don't do it, I go to shit, then everything else falls down around me.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@anthony And, you are in your mid 40's no kids at home and no job. Try that 2 hour workout when you hit your mid 60's with a shitload of health issues and a job! No f*cking way it sustainable.... Just sayin.....

 

[anthony]

Absolutely. Just another angle to view, which is your life, is all. I don't think comparison is the answer though to whether or not exercise works to manage PTSD.

Exercise works -- science confirms it at most turns. Most people who do it, experience it, then confirm it once they have a routine in place. It works. Not a comparison or who does more in their day or such though... it just is.