October 10th 2023.
Exercise is often thought of as the go-to solution for mental health issues. But for some like Adam Folkard, 37, this isn't the case. For Adam, exercise can trigger feelings of anxiety and lead to other issues such as over-training.
The mental health charity, Mind, have teamed up with sports brand ASICS to take a closer look at how people perceive physical activity. Their data reveals that two in five women are put off by the competitive nature of exercise, while more than half don't participate in sport due to their experiences in PE at school.
Adam, who lives near Leeds, has struggled with depression and diabetes and his relationship with exercise has been strained. He believed that if he wasn't seeing physical changes, exercise was pointless and it left him feeling anxious and judged.
One day, he made the decision to contact Mind for help. Now he works with the charity to advocate for better awareness of when exercise can be unhelpful in dealing with mental health. He has since adopted a new outlook and instead of viewing it as a goal-based activity, he exercises for the 'here and now'.
Hayley Jarvis from Mind explains that social media depictions of physical activity, including body image, can often be a barrier to people with mental health issues. The Get Active programme, which Mind are running with ASICS, provides tailored support to help people choose activities which are suitable for them and to enable them to take the first steps to being active.
It's clear that exercise can have a positive impact on our mental health, but it's important to recognise when it can be unhelpful. Through programs like Get Active, more and more people are being encouraged to be active in a more mindful way.
For many people, exercise is seen as a go-to coping mechanism for mental health issues. But for some, like Adam Folkard, 37, it can have the opposite effect. Adam noticed that his inner judge was telling him he hadn’t done ‘enough’ when it came to exercise, so he decided to remind himself that all movement is good movement and try to quiet the inner judge.
The mental health charity, Mind, have partnered with sports brand ASICS to release new data which reveals how muddied our thoughts around exercise can become. Two in five women are put off getting physically active because it feels too competitive, while more than half don’t participate in sport because they weren’t good at PE at school and that’s shaped their views on fitness.
Adam was struggling with anxiety and depression, and he felt like he needed to see physical changes from exercise in order for it to be worth it. He was also very conscious of being judged during exercise, and would try to hide it when he was out of breath. However, he eventually decided to contact Mind and work with the charity to advocate for better awareness of when exercise can be unhelpful in dealing with mental health.
Now, Adam has a better relationship with exercise. He has removed his smart watch and picked new walking routes to help him get his head up and enjoy it, rather than ‘measuring’ his exercise. Biola Babawale, 35, from London has also realised she needed to stop viewing exercise as a goal-based activity and now trains ‘for the here and now’.
It is important to note that exercise can have a positive effect on mental health, but for some, it can be a difficult journey to find the right balance. Mind and ASICS’ Get Active programme is helping people to overcome barriers to fitness and choose activities which are suitable for them. Ultimately, it is about finding a way to enjoy being physically active for the way it makes us feel, rather than striving for unrealistic goals.
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