Because I suffer from anxiety, I thrive off of fitness, especially endurance exercise. The harder and longer I push, the better I feel. I also love that endorphin rush after a long run or bike ride. I moved to the mountains for college when I was eighteen. It was the single best decision I ever made in my life. Discovering my love of playing in the mountains has saved my life in my opinion. If I had not found this outlet, I bet anything that I would be debilitated with depression and anxiety, as it runs in my family. Exercise and fresh air are my drugs of choice and I pretty much put it before anything else in my life.(selfish) Please people, if you suffer from mental illness, or not, getting outside and moving does wonders. Please read, “how exercise reduces depression, anxiety, cynicism, and anger.”
As a child, I did not have an outlet for anxiety and truly did not understand what was going on with me and why I was feeling so terrible. I can remember being in the nurses office almost every single day in 4th and 5th grade, thinking I was ill. Hello, RED FLAG. Why didn’t my parents or teachers recognize what was going on with me? Well, actually I know why. Anxiety wasn’t recognized or talked about as it is today. But I do believe my mother was aware that I had anxiety, she just didn’t know how to handle it. Luckily, as a parent I have the tools to recognize it in my kids and DO know how to handle it. For one, I believe sports/exercise are a huge help(another post on this later). Just getting kids to move and have goals will carry over into other aspects of their lives. I also want my kids to learn to be uncomfortable(although I struggle with this), as I never learned that. And all anxiety is being uncomfortable. I’m sorry, but life is unbelievably uncomfortable!