How My Morning Stroll Helped My Anxiety

Mental problems are among the most devastating experience you can have. Anxiety, for instance, sounds very basic but the reality is, it can change one’s mindset. It can hamper daily activities. In the long run, it can affect relationships, work, and even one’s health.

Often times mental conditions are taken for granted by many people thinking the next day would be better or that they can get over it without a fuzz. Even worse, most sufferers do not realize that they are already sinking down the path. One thing’s for sure if you have a recurring mental condition you need to consult an expert to help you.

Most people do not seek help for such a condition because of fear. It’s the fear for the unknown that stops people from getting the right medical attention. They often fear the stigma that surrounds mental conditions. They fear that they will be labeled differently thus they create a wall around their problem. They try to keep it to themselves thus getting their problem much worse than what they have thought.

But other than getting professional help, it would really alleviate your situation if you help yourself. There are things that can be done at home that would help make things better even just for a little bit. One of the things that I found to be interesting is my morning stroll.

This is a simple activity yet it helped me get off the hook of anxiety. But before you assume that this will solve everything, I’ll first clear things up. This is not like a pill that will solve your woes after taking it. Also, this won’t solve your anxiety disorder alone. There are things that you need to do like proper diet and rest.

But how does my morning stroll help my anxious thoughts?

One way that I think morning stroll has helped me is the way it diverts my attention. Anxiety happens if you start to think about the same thing or problem over and over. This somehow creates a path in your brain that play the same music for a very long time.

Most of the times, the small stuff are the ones that trigger an anxiety attack. Like if you don’t like being with many people. Sometimes even just by thinking going to the mall can make some folks palpitate. If you wanted to minimize the instances of attacks it’s a good idea to avoid what triggers it.

Awareness of the situation is essential. If you’ve been dealing with anxiety for some time you’ll realize how and what triggers it. Although it is not an exact science, your experience will tell you the answers. A morning stroll helps you with this. It keeps your mind off for some time, relaxing your thoughts along the process.

After you woke up, your mind is likely released from the bonds of anxiety. Taking a short walk amplifies this feeling as it takes your mind away from the possible triggers. More often than not, anxiety sufferers tend to keep things to themselves. This leads them to stay in their rooms and try to worry about things that might solve their anxiety.

This may sound appropriate but this does really not help. If you worry about your worries, it simply multiplies the problem. Enjoy the present. This is among the most difficult thing to ponder for someone who is suffering from anxiety.

Give a morning walk a try. It unplugs you from your usual environment giving your mind a sigh of relief even for just a few minutes.

Unless you’ve been under the rocks for years, you know well how important exercise is for your health. It gets your heart pumping harder, tone your muscles and helps delivers oxygen to your brain. And this is a good way to help soothe your mind.

Oxygen is essential in boosting one's mood. Happy thoughts can cover for that worry that has been lurking on your mind for so long. There’s a very important link between being moody and not getting enough exercise.

Many people do not appreciate the fact that exercise helps various health issues including mental -related ones. One reason that has been stopping most people in getting enough exercise is the difficulty of access or not having enough time. I was once a believer of the same mantra. That exercise is hard and you need to go to the gym to get the best out of it.

But I learned the hard way. If there’s one positive thing that I would associate my anxiety with, it’s exercise. It is the reason that I pushed myself out of bed early in the morning to have a short walk. Anxiety did push me to know more about my own health. It also made me appreciate the now rather living for tomorrow every minute of the day.

Walking is among the easiest exercise that anyone can do. And no, you don’t have to do a mile on your first day. Just a short 10-minute walk would be enough to keep you heart rate up without giving you any health complications.

But be mindful if you have a not been physically active lately. This could mean that your muscles and heart might not be ready for that additional load. If possible, seek some medical advice. Oftentimes though, short morning walks won’t raise any serious concern.

If you dig deep into what triggers your anxiety, it’s probably the things you see every day. Your room, your house, your family. There’s nothing wrong about being concerned about the future, but if you start living in the future, it’s not healthy at all. Being anxious for just about every little thing can get in the way of your daily activities. I remember when I first experienced a panic attack. My hands were trembling and mind is like in a mushy state that I cannot think straight.

That’s when I realized I need to take a break. I was not certain what to do at that point but I did get out of the situation by going outside my room instead of staying in. And that made a huge difference. It’s as though my point of view about the situation changed without me doing anything special.

After careful checking I realize that what I did really helped picked up myself together. Going outside of your norm, in some ways, relieves stress. This made me think about taking a stroll early in the morning. The simple act of leaving your room is enough to take away the concerns that are bugging you. This gives your mind time to put things into better perspective.

Those small strides do keep your mind from being anxious. It relieves you of that pressure that keeps on knocking inside. Also good to note is that a short morning walk will expose you to a dose of sunshine. This is yet another aspect that promotes happy thoughts as it brings down cortisol, one hormone that affects your mood. As it activates our flight-or-fight mechanism, cortisol is useful. But high amounts of it on your bloodstream for too long and it becomes a problem.

A single day won’t have a huge effect on your mental wellness. But making that morning walk a habit will make a huge impact on your well-being. It won’t cure your anxieties in a jiffy but it will ease out your thoughts for sure. Long term effects won’t happen overnight in such a short stint. What is needed is spending early mornings just enjoying nature, being grateful to be alive. Walk in a nearby park or perhaps along the beach, it is a good way to clear your mind and freshen up your spirit.