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Other/Mixed Mental Health & Your Workout Routine?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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steve-in-kville

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Not sure if this is the appropriate forum, but I was diagnosed with type 2 bipolar a few years ago. So far I've been able to control things without meds, but if I slack in the exercise department as well as diet, I start to have a lot of off days. I haven't gone on a walk or ruck for near a week and I'm really struggling. Can anyone else relate? Does anyone else struggle and find that a good workout makes the world right again?
 
@steve-in-kville I've struggled with mental health problems on and off for pretty much all of my adult life. Having some kind of physical training routine has helped considerably but it's important to be careful not to let the perceived 'success' of your training (whatever that may mean to you personally) dictate your mood. That is, don't let a bad workout ruin your day. Allow yourself to take time off when you need it and don't allow your workouts to become self-punitive.

Feel free to start a private conversation with me if there's anything you want to talk about.
 
I rode my bike to work for seven years and I definitely was a lot sharper mentally when I got to work. Didn't have to drink coffee like a fiend before the fog lifted. I miss those days. I'm actually thinking about doing 30 minute ruck before work, just to see if it makes a difference.
 
I rode my bike to work for seven years and I definitely was a lot sharper mentally when I got to work. Didn't have to drink coffee like a fiend before the fog lifted. I miss those days. I'm actually thinking about doing 30 minute ruck before work, just to see if it makes a difference.
What's changed in not bike commuting any more?
 
I start early and always rode in the dark, which I was cool with. I live in a pretty rural area and had too many sketchy things happen. My workplace doesn't allow us to have weapons at work and therefore I'd have no way to defend myself on the way to work.
 
I have a friend with anxiety and depression and she swears that exercise makes her feel better. And she ought to know, right? But I see something more - she exercises when she feels better, and doesn't exercise when she is anxious/depressed. And sometimes she exercises to an extreme level, telling me how good she is feeling, but she comes across as more manic to me. Then she exhausts herself because the level of exercise isn't sustainable, the anxiety/depression returns and she stops exercising. These cycles can be quite lengthy, up to six months or so.
 
The only real mental health negative I've noticed from training, when I up the intensity and really push it hard I can become moody, short tempered.
I don't have the most mellow temperament to begin with. Seems crazy to suggest its from increased T or cortisone, I have no idea really, but it is something I've noticed several times when changing my programming. Usually squares with mass building phases.
 
Training serves your mental fitness tremendously, just be careful not to go to the opposite extreme. As a person suffering from anxiety I tend to use my training as a tension-dumper. I often get too involved in scrutinizing my LibreCalc tables with delta-principled sessions and browsing for sport-related info, while neglecting everything else. It took me a while to understand I'm inclined to do that. I have to constantly remind myself that training is a mean to an end (in my case building a sustainable body - StrongFirst and crossing mental frontiers - Muay Thai), not an end itself.
 
Working out most helps my mental health if paradoxically I don’t think of it as working out. When I sprint or otherwise run, I don’t think about doing “cardio” or preparing for a running season goal; I just want to explore the basic human ability: how quickly can I get to something or away from something? When I practice strength, I don’t think about “resistance training”; I just want to explore the strength I need to best do various tasks in daily life. When I get out a yoga mat, I don’t worry too much about if what I am doing counts as “doing yoga.” Some of what I do may be actual yoga asanas, but a lot of it is exploring what I capable of: can I deliberately take a fall safely? What are the best ways to get up from the floor in different contexts? Can I keep my body balanced in situations that could threaten my balance? The less I think about “working out” and the more I just explore my capabilities, the better it is for my mental health.
 
When I run, or even ruck, depending on my mood and how "busy" my mind is, I tend to "zone out" which can be good.

I go through phases when I simply cannot sleep on a Monday night. Its not that its anxiety or bad thoughts... I just can't shut my mind off. Thinking of all I want to accomplish that week, both at work and at home. It hasn't been as bad lately, but it can become an issue.
 
When I run, or even ruck, depending on my mood and how "busy" my mind is, I tend to "zone out" which can be good.

I go through phases when I simply cannot sleep on a Monday night. Its not that its anxiety or bad thoughts... I just can't shut my mind off. Thinking of all I want to accomplish that week, both at work and at home. It hasn't been as bad lately, but it can become an issue.

Even if one isn’t interested in formal meditation, there are aspects of meditation that are helpful for getting a good night’s sleep. One theme that turns up in many approaches to meditation is simply: do not identify yourself with your thoughts. When I go to bed, I don’t let my thoughts convince me that they are important thoughts or necessary thoughts. It sounds like you have a similar experience when you run or ruck.
 
I have cyclothymia, and my kid and my sister have Bipolar 1. My kid and I are both on an anticonvulsant that conveniently is also a mood stabilizer; my sister does not take medication, but has a good handle on her symptoms.
- My sister says that yes, exercise is a major part of how she manages her symptoms.
- My kid seems much more regulated after exercise when she is not in a manic episode. When she is manic, she can go for nearly two days at full speed (without sleep) before she collapses - I mean like running around the room, jumping onto the bed, jumping off the bed, running around the room, jumping on the bed...repeat for almost two days. I kid you not. A sane workout doesn't touch that and it is very, very bad on the body, especially for a child. But when her meds and sleep are both squared away, exercise helps.
- So there are two ways I have used exercise in the past to help hypomanic episodes if they turn bad (intense anxiety instead of, for instance, cleaning the entire house). I used to go running until I calmed down, but it helped because I was pushing my body too hard to maintain a panicked state, and it was not healthy. Now, as long as I catch it early, I can do swings and get-ups. It helps because it gives my body something to do with the adrenaline - that *doesn't* play into the flight response like running does - and gives my mind something to focus on. Weight helps the nervous system for many people and I find heavy swings to be especially good for this.
As for depression, while I feel that exercise can head it off for me to some degree, I generally don't work out while in a depressive episode because it feels bad for my body in the same way that it feels bad to work out when I am sick. My body is demanding rest then. I used to call depressive episodes the "emotional flu" and I'd treat it accordingly: more sleep (but not too much), nutritious food, maybe a walk or an easygoing bike ride. Mine are short though, so it's easier for me to do that than it is for some people.

In short, yes, working out can have a profoundly positive effect on my mental health, provided I am sensible about it.
 
The only real mental health negative I've noticed from training, when I up the intensity and really push it hard I can become moody, short tempered.
I don't have the most mellow temperament to begin with. Seems crazy to suggest its from increased T or cortisone, I have no idea really, but it is something I've noticed several times when changing my programming. Usually squares with mass building phases.
I'm the same way, it's one of my indicators of overtraining/under recovering..
 
When I run, or even ruck, depending on my mood and how "busy" my mind is, I tend to "zone out" which can be good.

I go through phases when I simply cannot sleep on a Monday night. Its not that its anxiety or bad thoughts... I just can't shut my mind off. Thinking of all I want to accomplish that week, both at work and at home. It hasn't been as bad lately, but it can become an issue.
In the past I'd take time to write those things down, then my brain could let go.. knowing the thoughts were safely stored for morning perusal.
 
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