What's stopping you?....

Moving more is good for our mental health…so what’s stopping us?

This is the headline of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (13 – 19 May).

If you’re anything like me, it is sometimes a struggle to fit in activities that support our physical health. It has never been second nature to me, I was not into sport at school, more on the musical side. So in adulthood I have had to learn how to integrate exercise into my life, and ideally, to enjoy it as well! 

It is easy to make excuses to not do exercise – I have tried them all! Too busy, too tired, too stressed. But I know that when I feel like that, that is the time when I need exercise more than ever. 

We often think of exercise as being purely to look after ourselves physically- to keep our weight down, keep our joints, muscles and bones moving, and lower the risk of disease. 

The evidence of the impact of physical activity on mental health is well documented, but still, only 45% of us feel that mental health and wellbeing can be improved through physical activity, according to the Mental Health Foundation, and 28% of us said they were too tired to do physical activity. Cost, time and the weather are also seen as barriers, as well as poor physical or mental health. 

On a recent webinar I joined, the speaker talked about building new habits and the importance of focussing on: Essential: Enjoyable: Easy. 

Essential: Get clear on why you are doing the exercise and the tangible benefits to you, as well as the cost of not doing it. Like enjoying life more, or having more confidence. 

Enjoyable: Which options for new behaviours will be most enjoyable to you? How can you make them more enjoyable? Maybe exercising with a friend?

Easy: How can I make it as simple as possible to do this activity? Can I remove any obstacles? Maybe keeping your gym bag by the door or accessing online activities

Maybe start with small steps rather than setting yourself targets that seem unreachable. That way you can build up day by day. Start building new habits slowly but surely. 

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #activity #exercise #mentalhealth