Exercise

People with mental illness have found that exercise improves both their physical and mental health...

“Light exercise – such as a daily walk – helps you feel better physically, counteracts the effects of some medication and keeps your weight under control. Strenuous exercise – such as swimming – untenses the body and often lifts a lot of headaches and problems almost miraculously”

You don’t need to start a gruelling exercise routine to improve your health. Regular
moderate exercise, like walking or dancing, will give you a boost. Doing some exercise for half an hour 4 times a week is enough to feel the difference. You will know if you are exercising properly if you’re sweating a little and feel a bit out of breath, but you’re still able to talk.

• Walking in your neighbourhood
  
• Getting off the bus a stop early and walking
  the last bit
  
• Taking the stairs instead of the lift or escalator
  
• Skipping
  
• Cleaning the house

If you want to do more exercise than this, you may be able to get a reduction on admission fees to a local gym or swimming pool or local exercise classes. Your GP or community nurse should be able to tell you about this. Your GP may be able to give you a prescription for exercise. Your gym may run specific sessions, like women-only classes, where you might feel more comfortable.

You could also think about doing exercise with other people. You could ask a friend to go along to an exercise class with you, or take a walk with you. Or you could start a group sport and make new friends. Your local leisure centre may have details of local teams.

If you are in hospital, that doesn’t have to mean the end of exercise. Other people who are stuck indoors, like people who work in offices, are sometimes told to get up and walk around at least every hour or to dance. Sitting still for long periods is unlikely to make you feel better. Moving around will help to keep the body, including the brain, active and less stressed.

It might be a good idea to keep a diary of how much exercise you do: Download an example of an exercise diary (27 kb)

One Rethink member began exercising by walking for 10 minutes a day and with a great deal of perseverance and determination, years later managed to complete a far longer walk. He tells his story below:

“When I first started training for my Trek to Base Camp Everest Nepal, I could barely walk for 10 minutes. Like many people who take antipsychotic medicines, one of the side effects for me had been significant weight gain. I had managed to go from 15 stone to nearly 25 stone. This was an accumulation of over eating and the lack of will to exercise because of my illness. Even the shortest of walks was both emotionally and physically exhausting at first."

“Although it was extremely hard, I persevered over a long while and, little by little, I found the confidence to walk slightly further each day. Eventually after much effort I managed to walk for nearly 41/2 hours a day and became fit enough to Trek to Base Camp Everest in 2003. It took much effort and time and a great will to succeed and overcome my paranoia and obesity, but I did it. Now I'm in training for my next trip - this time, to climb Everest itself. My climb is symbolic of my struggle to recover from my schizophrenia: By reaching new heights, I hope to achieve a new life with experiences I once thought were impossible. I also wish to inspire fellow sufferers and encourage all to live life to the full.”