We have interviewed 17 people who have overcome struggles with the help of excercise. These stories show that excercising is one of the most powerful ways to overcome struggles of mental health.
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I’ve interviewed 17 people who have been helped by excercise, and here are the top 5 struggles that these people have overcome:
In our many years of publishing helpful mental health content, we always received questions from our readers about specific situations. While we have a lot of helpful tips to share on how to be happier, we simply can’t offer advice for every situation.
That’s why I’ve set out to interview folks with every type of mental health struggle. My job as an interviewer is to categorize these interviews and present them in a way that is most helpful to our readers.
“I constantly compared my body to everyone else’s. And I viewed my perfectly healthy body as “bad” and not good enough. I was self-conscious of what I wore and always strived to wear clothes that hid my insecurities. I didn’t allow myself to wear clothes I loved because they highlighted a perceived flaw in my body.”
Struggled with:
Negative body image
Helped by:
Exercise
Mindfulness
“When I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, I was elated to finally have a label for my issues. After suffering through the symptoms for my entire life, there was finally an answer as to why I had experienced them.”
Struggled with:
Abuse
Borderline Personality Disorder
Helped by:
Exercise
Journaling
“I started to experience an anxiety disorder, an eating disorder (I lost around 10 kg), depression, trust issues, and other mental problems as well. I was becoming this person that I didn’t recognize anymore, all while drifting away from being the person I wanted to be.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Breakup
Eating disorder
“I remember collapsing in the stairwell and I thought I was having a heart attack. The staff that was in the building at the time recognized this as a panic attack and thankfully did not make the situation worse. Nobody there referred me to a counselor or therapist though.”
Struggled with:
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Helped by:
Exercise
Meditation
“I was on a very high antipsychotic dose and the side effects made me miserable. I made a plan to end my life but before anything happened my mom noticed my deepening depression. She helped me get treatment for depression and, just as important, both she and my brother spent time with me, offering constant reassurance that there was light at the end of the tunnel.”
Struggled with:
Depression
Psychosis
Helped by:
Exercise
Medication
“The next morning, my father woke me up at the crack of dawn and drove me to a kickboxing gym two hours away. As I stepped inside the gym, the sight of tattooed, muscular men punching each other to the sound of Eminem music made me feel intimidated.”
Struggled with:
Racism
Helped by:
Exercise
Journaling
Self-improvement
“I responded to dangerous incidents with no fear. That’s not to say I was courageous, rather, I didn’t care if anything happened to me. I didn’t think anyone would miss me if I was killed on duty. I didn’t wish for it, but it was a possibility in my line of work and it didn’t scare me.”