Top Ways To Treat Mental Illnesses

Exercise

When most individuals suffer from mental illnesses such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and even bipolar disorder, there are often many moments when they feel as if they simply do not have any motivation to do much of anything. However, doing things is often exactly what they need to do to start feeling relief. This is where exercise comes in!

Exercise has been proven to release endorphins, which can act as pain relievers, but they primarily function as a feel-good hormone, since they produce a feeling similar to that of morphine. This feeling is where the term ‘runner’s high’ comes from! It is also worth noting exercise is an excellent addition to cognitive behavior therapy and goal accomplishment. One major tenet of cognitive behavioral therapy is for patients to do things even if they do not feel like it, particularly in the case of exercise and getting movement into their day. Actually doing things is what creates motivation to keep going. Waiting around for motivation to strike, especially with a mental illness such as depression, could mean patients waiting for quite a long time, perhaps even forever.

Though it is important to remember there are many other methods of treating mental illnesses, medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and exercise have shown the most success in the widest array of patients, particularly when a combination of them makes up treatment.