Recently, we had a client who came to train with us for a month. He’s trained with us many times before and despite living overseas, he comes as often as he’s able to. He’s been very open with us about his long term struggle with depression and the impact it has had on every aspect of his life.
He recognises that he has a loving and supportive wife, great friends and generally, good health. Yet despite knowing this, there are days and weeks when he is hit by debilitating depression.
During his recent stay at Samui Fight House, his training was going brilliantly. In addition, he was tackling, and finally making good headway against an ongoing health issue he’d been struggling with for ages. He’d lost weight, and he was looking and feeling happier and healthier than he had for years.
As he left the Camp at the end of his stay, he was optimistic about the future and feeling great. His intention was to continue his training and healthy eating, as he had experienced first hand how powerful an impact this had on his overall wellbeing.
Shortly after returning home however, everything went out the window. Unable to motivate himself to train, his mental state deteriorated rapidly and it became a vicious cycle of knowing he would feel better if he exercised but unable to make himself do so and then beating himself up about not training. He rapidly slid into a mental black hole and found it tremendously difficult to extricate himself from the situation.
Study after study has shown a strong correlation between improved mental wellbeing and regular exercise. But when you’re in the throes of depression, all the statistics in the world don’t matter. I don’t believe there’s ever an easy answer or a one-size fits all solution. Depression is tough, and often its made even harder by the fact that, for many, it’s still a taboo topic. I do however believe that if you can incorporate a small amount of physical activity into your day, even better if that activity happens outside in some form of nature, that your mental wellbeing will benefit. And maybe, sometimes, that small amount of consistent activity is enough to keep the darkness at bay?
At Samui Fight House, we see first hand the physical benefits that our training provides. But many times, it goes much deeper than that for our clients. And any time we can send a client on their way lighter both in body and spirit, well, that’s got to be a good thing. So, today we’re asking, has incorporating an exercise program into your life brought you benefits other than the purely physical? If yes, please share your comments.
