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Sunday 9 April 2017

Serious Sunday - How Working Out Helped My Mental Health


Hello, lovelies!

I figured I would start a new series on this blog - Serious Sunday. Above all things I want to keep this blog true to what it started as... An honest, open insight into my life.

If you've been reading for a while you'll know I suffer from a wide variety of issues. Both mental and physical. From anxiety, to depression, to BPD, to OCD, there isn't a place in my head that feels like a "safe" place some days. That is where the gym has come in. In the last six months I have seen improvements in my mental health, as well as physically, just from going to the gym three to four times a week.

When I'm stressed - gym. When I'm angry - gym. When I'm happy - you bet I'm at the freaking gym. Spending that hour, two hours, three hours, on my body and focusing my mind on nothing else is incredibly therapeutic. I sleep better, I pay more attention to what goes into my body, I feel like I can breathe better. It doesn't matter if all I do is run on the treadmill for 45 minutes, and then picture who ever has pissed me off's face on the matt while I medicine ball slam out all my anger.

Working out, for me, is a way of clearing my mind. The thoughts that spend so long every day trying to pull me apart are the last thing on my mind, because I'm too busy focusing my mind on the muscles I'm working. On the same note - clearing my mind helps distract me from my physical aches and pains brought on by my Fibromyalgia. Of course there are still days when I physically can't go to the gym because my body needs to rest, but they are a lot fewer and far between than they were before, which is strange considering I've been working my body more, right?

My muscles are getting more used to being worked in such a way that Fibro pains, whilst still constant and always present, aren't as debilitating as they were before.

Basically, the point of this post, working out has changed that way I look at life, the way I look at my body, and the way I look at myself. I have a much healthier relationship with my body, and a much more positive outlook on life. It's true what Elle Woods says: "Exercise gives you endorphin's, endorphin's make you happy, happy people don't just shoot their husbands."

I hope you guys don't mind the addition of these more serious posts!

I'll see you next time, then.

Ree xo

7 comments:

  1. Oh, I loved this post. Working out for me also helped mentally as well, it's amazing!

    Lee | www.thatbellemakeup.co.uk

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  2. I'm so glad that working out has really helped you! I'm looking to really start focusing on working out once I've finished my first year of uni. I love serious posts, they're my favourite to read.

    Katie | whiteaesthetix.com

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  3. Working out helps me a lot too, but when I'm not in the right mindset I struggle to get out of bed and get going. I'm glad it's been useful for you!

    Lauren | www.thelifeofastudentblogger.blog

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  4. I know how important working out is but I'm just too lazy. I need to motivate myself to hit the gym. Btw, that quote by Elle Woode cracked me up.lol
    Afia Adoma.

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  5. I know I should work out more but I struggle so much with the motivation. I'm so glad it has helped your mental health, I know when I work out I feel so buzzing for hours afterwards but I just find it so hard to push myself to get there!
    Claire xo

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    Replies
    1. Motivation is definitely hard for me some days! But I always feel better for forcing myself to go.

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  6. Glad that you have found something that works for you :) I want to start working out more for sure x

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