Hi! I'm Caroline, a psychologist from Amsterdam. This is my sixth post!
Check out my last post about relaxation here, or my introduction here.
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photo by Mark David

How to run away from your problems

Oh problems! You can sit and think about them, talk about them, read or write about them. However, sometimes getting up and running is the best thing to do, regardless of how you feel about running. still from GIRLS
The facts about running (or any aerobic exercise) are hard to ignore. It can help against depressive symptoms, anxiety or stress. It can be mood enhancing, improve the quality of your sleep, your memory, your energy levels, and the development of your brain and all the things your brain can do - regardless of your age. And these are only some of the mental health benefits! The list of physical health benefits is even longer, including reduced fatigue, increased stamina, a stronger heart and immune system, and a longer life.



A bit about me
Before the age of 21 I had never done any actual exercise. I always thought it wasn't for me. Especially team sports: that only meant more people being able to see my weak, uncoordinated body standing around, awkwardly swinging a tennis racket or avoiding a hockey ball. Attempts at exercise always quickly made me feel dizzy and tired and just more convinced that it was a mistake to try it. I started running after a very experienced psychologist that I looked up to told me I had to. I decided to see it as a small experiment. I started to run in spite of half-believing that it would be useless and/or a failure, with wrong shoes, in a boring park, slowly but regularly. To my surprise, it got better and easier.
Now I can run 10 kilometres and I generally feel stronger, more energetic, and more relaxed, and my thoughts are more positive and more clear. When I stop exercising for a few weeks, those benefits gradually go away.
Just to be clear: I don’t have it all figured out and I’m not an athlete, but I am a good example of someone who went from thinking exercise was not for me, to being really helped by it.



Step by step
It’s great to have a big, long-term goal, like signing up for a half marathon, but go towards it one step at a time. Divide it up into smaller sub-goals, so you can clearly see your progress and congratulate yourself on it. Or stick to having only small goals, like running the length of a song without stopping, or running twice a week for a month.



Music
What you listen to during your run can really help. The most standard choice is upbeat, active music, to pump yourself up and push yourself. But this isn’t always the right thing to listen to.

You don’t need to feel pumped or be tough to go running.

Sometimes calmer music might make you run slower, but running slowly is still intense enough for it to be great exercise. It might even help you run longer distances because you won’t be pushing yourself too hard. It doesn’t have to be music either! You can download talks on topics you find interesting, or audio books, and listen to that as you run. If you run twice a week and listen to a talk that gives you confidence and clarity each time, it will influence you in a positive way.


Gear
Good running shoes make it a lot more comfortable, and if you have breasts: the right bra. Supportive but not too tight (you have to be able to breathe the way you want and have blood flow to and from your breasts).
still from Forrest Gump
Developing confidence
This is possibly the most important and interesting effect. If you’ve never really done any exercise, the first time you go running will be hilarious. You will feel drained and easily conclude that you can’t do it and you’ll never be able to. The second time will be slightly better - so slightly that you might not notice it and feel as horrible as you did the first time. But then you start to reach your first goal: for example, the goal that you will be able to run without stopping for the length of an entire song. You will be able to do that after a few times, and you weren’t able to do that before. What does that mean? What does that say about other aspects of your life? This is where it gets interesting:

What else will you be able to do that you couldn’t do before, just by uncomfortably trying it a few times?

Those of you who do not exercise, especially those of you with low confidence levels; I invite you to dare to begin! You stand to gain the most.


What are your thoughts on this?
Do you have experience with the mental health benefits of aerobic exercise?