With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I would do a post on the subject of mental health and ways we can manage it. There are things we can do on a daily basis to ensure that we are taking care of ourselves.

I have had my own personal struggles with mental health, and one thing that has always made me feel better is exercising. There are so many benefits to working out, one being your mental health. Exercising releases the chemicals in your brain that make you happy and feel good. So, there is a reason why after working out people always feel like they are on top of the world and better than ever.

I personally have gotten really into doing indoor cycling classes. Not only am I getting a good workout in, but the classes always make me feel confident and beautiful. For me, the best type of workouts are the ones where you leave feeling both physically and mentally better.

So, how are big mental health awareness organizations like the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention encouraging exercise to better your mental health?

Well, on their website under “Things you can do to support your recovery,” exercising is one of them. So they clearly know that when you exercise it can make you feel better. Now, in no way are they saying that working out is the cure to depression, but they are saying if you are feeling down then exercising is just one way you can take care of your mental health.

Another way that an organization is promoting exercise to help mental health is by hosting events that offer free yoga classes. Because they know that any form of exercise helps with your mental health, they are going to offer free work out classes because they want people to find healthy ways to cope with whatever they have going on.

For example, the organization called Uplift Family Services, hosts a Tennis Marathon event that people are able to participate in or watch. These organizations could easily host events that have nothing to do with physical activity, but they know that physical activity is so important for your mental health.

You can’t promote better mental health without also promoting better physical health. Having a healthy lifestyle is so important when it comes to your mental health.

Mental health awareness organizations know this, which is why they advocate to exercise for your mind.