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Are you depressed? Weight lifting can help you be happy

Are you depressed? Weight lifting can help you be happy
Weight training is also about internal monologue, which helps abolish the main issue of anxiety, which is communication errors. © Shutterstock

Gone are the days when pumping weights was all about body cuts and muscle tone. It can boost mental health too. Read on to know more.

Written by Paras Hemrajani |Published : August 25, 2019 11:49 AM IST

According to a research backed by WHO, one in five Indians suffer from some mental health condition. Of these, only 10-12 per cent seek help or are aware that they have a mental problem. If you notice any symptoms of mental illness like change in sleep pattern, attention disorder, illogical thinking, etc. seek professional help immediately. These symptoms rarely appear 'out of the blue'. It usually develops over time. You just must be alert to it. If ignored it can cause severe health complications. In fact, 14 per cent of all diseases have roots in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Though people are aware and literate, at times, social stigma and misinformation may mislead them on issues of mental disorders. Very often, fear of being ridiculed may stop a person from seeking help. The WHO research says that the words most often used for mentally ill people are 'rendered, crazy, mad, stupid, spaced out and even brain defect'.

You can train your brain if the body is weak, but you cannot train your body if your brain is weak. Physical health is only possible if your mind is properly trained and functioning. Dealing with mental health is not an option but a requirement in today's time.

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MANAGING MENTAL HEALTH MAY BE AS EASY AS GYMING

According to a recent study, published in The JAMA Psychiatry, it has been found that just like the heart and lungs, our brain too responds to external influences. The brain has the capability to adapt and change itself with external responses. Weight lifting is just one of those responses. This study says that resistance training may help in managing symptoms of mental disorder.

Let us see how weight training can help in some common mental illnesses.

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that affects over 300 million people worldwide. It is associated with a general loss of interest in things. Currently, depressive symptoms are treated with medication and group therapies.

According to the abovementioned research in The JAMA Psychiatry, weight lifting can have a positive effect on the brain. Rather than just sitting on the couch, a person can go ahead and exercise. The reason weight training is more beneficial than any other exercise is that the person can choose the amount of sets he/she wants to do. Researchers say that people describe themselves as more active after a regular weights' workout. And since it does not require any special tools or work space, it can be easily done at home or at a regular gym. This gives the person freedom to train at his/her convenience.

Anxiety

Anxiety varies for each person, some feel it more than others. Sometimes, it is even an indicator of an underlying condition like sleep disorder, excessive caffeine intake and nicotine poisoning. Though it is considered to be a normal emotion, it can interfere with your daily life.

If anxiety is fire, then uncertainty is fuel. Weight training can help here too. Repeated sets and body movements help by inducing a sense of predictability. Weight training is also about internal monologue, which helps abolish the main issue of anxiety, which is communication errors. Plus working in crowed space for weight training helps in removing the issue of social hesitation.

Anger issues

Anger is a normal human emotion, but it too needs to be controlled. It is mainly a response of fight or flight response that the brain gives out during tense situations. if handled incorrectly, it can lead to too many problems.

Weight lifting helps focus the anger. In fact, many weight lifters use hidden anger as a spur to exercise. People take out their anger by lifting weights. The study in The JAMA Psychiatry say that human response to resistance training has a direct association with anger response.

Stress

Endorphins, serotonin and dopamine are chemicals produced by the body during pain. This helps reduce stress. A human body is trained to release endorphins during physical workouts as it considers it as pain. Endorphins are produced more during weight lifting as this is a fast activity and must be completed in a short period of time.

Similarly, our body also generates cortisol during times of stress. This affects skeletal muscle and weakens the body. So, it is best to train with an experienced expert.

Weight training requires full attention and focus of an individual, which eventually serves as a distraction and reduces the mind pressure from time to time.

Cognitive functioning

Cognitive functioning refers to the ability of the brain to attend, remember and reason with the signals that are sent to it. Working with weights leads to better cognitive functioning as more signals are constantly sent to the brain. This makes brain cells more active and trains your mind regarding certain commands. According to a new study published in Psychological Research, weight training puts a lot of cognitive demands on the brain and the same cortisol helps memory formulation. Maintaining exercise frequency and duration helps in the long run.