It can be challenging to motivate yourself to exercise when you struggle with your mental health. On paper, the best thing to do would be to join a group of people practicing some exercise you enjoy with the help of a coach. Examples are Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates, or more vigorous sports like basketball or golf. This way, you get the benefits of supervised exercise and companionship.
However, if your mental health is going through a bad period, doing those activities that sound so good on paper may look like an impossible challenge. You may have difficulty motivating yourself to go out, feel tired most of the day, and think people reject you, so you can’t contemplate exercising with them. You may have money worries, and many organized activities with a coach are not cheap.
Over time, I have found that starting at home is the best chance I have to combat feeling overwhelmingly unable to move. When you are feeling better, you can explore more social solutions. You don’t have to embark on some ambitious exercise plan to feel better. If you are overweight, especially if your medication has added to this problem, you may feel depressed about exercising, even at home; don’t let it stop you from moving your body.
An approach that works for me when I struggle is to exercise at home simply in whatever I am wearing, meaning I don’t have to get into exercise gear, take out an exercise mat, and use weights. Even fifteen minutes of moving every two hours will help. For example, when I watch baseball on TV, I get up and move around during the commercial breaks between innings. Usually, I do some housework, which can be as simple as putting some of my clothes in their proper place or putting dirty clothes in the washing machine and starting it.
To be effective, I need more exercise than short breaks from TV, as helpful as that is. Everyone has to discover their favorite type of movement and do some of it every few hours. I love to dance to music at home. If I feel like a vegetable, I listen to an exciting song and move around the house to it. That usually gets my heart rate up.
Going up and down stairs several times every few hours is good exercise if your house has stairs. If you have a treadmill, use it, but don’t get too ambitious. Even fifteen minutes four times a day at three miles per hour will already help.
As well as exercise, I suggest meditation to help you relax. There are some great apps out there for beginners.
Above all, don’t pressure yourself over keeping fit, but don’t neglect the need to move either! Keep it simple; keep it enjoyable!