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Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Unknown userMember30 May 2018, 11:02 am AEST

Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

We’ve all heard over and over again that exercise can be beneficial for your health. But can it be beneficial for your mental health too? Research is beginning to explore the role of exercise as a therapeutic intervention for a range of mental health issues ranging from depression to PTSD. For this Topic Tuesday, we’ll be hearing your stories about exercise – what you like, what you dislike…and most importantly, what works to support your mental health.

So please join us, to share your experiences. We promise, no running shoes or lycra required 😜

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Topic Tuesday runs from 7pm - 9pm AEST monthly. Each month we focus on a different topic, with the session facilitated by a Community Manager or Moderator. Sometimes Topic Tuesday will feature a special guest, who is an expert in the topic.

The first post of the thread (this one) will give you an idea of what the topic is and what will be covered.

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Throughout the session, the facilitator will put questions out for you to answer, usually asking for your own experience on the topic. To contribute to the session, just hit the 'reply' button and share your thoughts. No answers are right or wrong and everyone is welcome to get involved.

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93 replies

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In response to: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Unknown userMember19 June 2018, 7:55 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Welcome to the discussion @queercat

Sounds like you've had a mixed relationship with exercise over the years and it's great that with the support of your treatment team you've been able to safely ease back into it at a level and pace that feels ok for you. What advice do you think you'd give to others around trusting their treatment team when it comes to exercise and eating disorder recovery?

In response to: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

queercatCasual Contributor19 June 2018, 7:55 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Kudos for sticking with Yoga with a colostomy bag and so many surgeries. I don't know your age or gender but consider looking at @scarrednotscared on instagram - she's a body positive woman who has had numerus surgeries

In response to: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

FeeFee1976Contributor19 June 2018, 7:56 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

I'm shy too, but I joined a DV recovery group for women recently were I've met the kindest people, one of the girls invited me to a yoga class soon. it's good for me to get out to safe positive environments

In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Unknown userMember19 June 2018, 7:56 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

For most of us, motivation to exercise doesn’t come easily. Although we may understand the value, have the desire to exercise, and have set out a plan to start….the actual “doing” of exercise can be a real challenge. It certainly doesn’t help that depression and other mental health difficulties can reduce our motivation and leave us feeling pretty flat.

Do you find motivation around exercise to be a challenge? How do you motivate yourself to exercise? What do you think you could do to improve your motivation to exercise?

In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

PatchouliRoseSenior Contributor19 June 2018, 7:57 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Setting regular days and times is helpful for me at keeping a regular exercise routine.

In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

FeeFee1976Contributor19 June 2018, 8:00 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

I need to set rewards for myself if i exercise, like walking to a cafe for coffee or treating myself afterwards.

In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Unknown userMember19 June 2018, 8:00 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Routine is a bit part of motivation for sure @PatchouliRose. And strength training is such a great way to exercise as you can do it from home too 🙂

In response to: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

AdgeSenior Contributor19 June 2018, 8:01 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

I've always had to push myself to go to yoga class @frog

Even now, after years (maybe not quite as much).

I often think "I can't go, I'm too tired", "I can't do this", "What's the point", "Everyone's more flexible than me", etc - but somehow I still keep going.

I think that it became easier once I made it routine.

It's so hard leaving at 7.30am every Saturday morning, to drive to yoga...

We're encouraged to do yoga at home every day (on our own), but so far no-one in class does...

Adge

In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Unknown userMember19 June 2018, 8:02 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

Did you know? One study found that exercise on one day predicted greater positive social events on the subsequent day

In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

queercatCasual Contributor19 June 2018, 8:02 pm AEST

Re: Topic Tuesday // Exercise as Therapy // Tues. 19 June 7pm AEST

I was very reluctant to give up exercise as it was such a huge part of my identity and I dug my heals in for a long time. I started by compromising and we had a weekly limit, as I got more and more desperate to recover without giving up exercise, it became clear that it was something I needed to do. My body thanked me for letting it rest after years of abuse and now its getting stronger. When introducing exercise back in it started with social sport 2 days a week instead of one, then trialling some gym classes etc. I think an important part of re-engaging with exercise was that I did exercise that couldn't be measured in km run etc. so mainly group exercise. I also limited myself to one instructors class and I disclosed my history and it serves as an accountability tool for me.

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