Page 41 - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

Lifestyle Changes That Improve Mental Health | 41

2004). It appears that various types of exercise may help specific
disorders: hiking for spiritual connection, martial arts for
depression and spirituality, boxing or ultimate fighting to work
out anger, and team sports to improve confidence and build
social skills (D’Silva 2002). One study found that panic was
reduced equally as well by both anti-anxiety medication and
exercise from individual self-report, although the medications
worked more quickly (Broocks 1998). Higher levels of coherence,
mastery, self-efficacy, and better social support were reported
by those engaged in physical exercise (Hassman 2000).
Paluska and Schwenk published a detailed review of the state of
the research on exercise and mental health and concluded that
exercise appears to have the most impact on people with mild to
moderate anxiety and depression. The authors found that
exercise has the same impact as psychotherapy for people with
mild to moderate symptoms in clinically depressed populations
but the correlation between exercise and mood is less clear in
non-clinical populations (Paluska 2000).
Regarding neurotransmitters, exercise has been shown to
increase serotonin (Fox 1999), acetylcholine and norepinephrine
(Deslandes 2009). Recent data revealed that exercise may
function more as an analgesic, sedative, and anxiolytic than as a
producer of endorphin highs (Deslandes 2009).
An interesting finding in the literature reveals that all types of
exercise seem to have a positive effect on depression and other
mental illness: aerobic, anaerobic and flexibility (Paluska 2000).
Atlantis et al found that multimodal exercise (as opposed to one
form of exercise) resulted in significantly less depression and
stress and better levels of mental health and vitality after 24
weeks (Atlantis 2004).
Given the evidence that exercise makes a profound impact on
mental health, it is wise to assess exercise habits with clients.
Along with assessing motivation for fitness, it would be helpful
to present the evidence that exercise has a direct effect on
mental illness and to engage a discussion on the “fun factor.”
Exercise encompasses so many activities that it is entirely