I am a firm believer that EXERCISE plays a huge role in MENTAL HEALTH.  

I read a great article today in the IDEA Fitness Journal titled “Train Yourself Happy.”

In the image I took below of the article you can see that Exercise can play a key role in alleviating anxiety and depression.

This article was so interesting to me because I can relate to the topic from my own personal experience.  Right out of college I started working for UBS Investment bank, and I loved it! It sure was was a lot of work but I really enjoyed working in finance. As we all know, the market took a down turn and the investment bank lost tons of money.. so they had no choice but to have layoffs. I saw a lot of my coworkers leave over the course of the last 2 years I was there. I started to get stressed and worried for my position, but really there wasn’t anything I could do.

I started turning to exercise to relieve my stress. I would go to the gym early in the morning before work for spin classes or to do cardio, and I would go right after work on some nights to take a sports conditioning class that I loved!

I started feeling so much better!! My mood was lifted, I wasn’t as stressed, and I was able to breathe a little easier! I made the gym a priority and it was always scheduled in on my calendar.  I had such a strong passion for Health & Fitness my whole life that I took it upon myself to study personal training. Soon enough I found a job at a gym… and I left UBS on my own terms.  It was a great decision for me.. and I couldn’t be happier!

Do you use exercise for Mental Health and not just for physical health? If so, have you noticed any changes?