Mental Health through Exercise.

8 Keys to Mental Health though Exercise by Christina G. Hibbert with a forward by Babette Rothschild. 

A Book Review.

Christina Hibbert is a clinical psychologist and an expert on women's mental health. She is also the author of Who am I without you? and This is how we Grow.  8 Keys to Mental Health through Exercise  is a psychological treatise on mental health and exercise. In the book Christina explains the mind-body connection as enhanced by physical exercise. This book is acclaimed to be able to change your life; that exercise is like a magic pill for well-being, and is insightful for roadblocks to forming an exercise regimen. The chapters in the book are divided into 8 keys. 

There are 18 books to date in the 8 keys series edited by Babette Rothschild. They cover, trauma, eating disorders, mindfulness, forgiveness, bullying, parenting, anxiety, addiction, attachment, depression, anger and more. Babette says that Exercise is good for a healthy immune system, strong bones (weights), heart and lungs (aerobic) and of course mental-health. Apparently so good for our mental health that it is a perfect add-on to psychotherapy and medications. Exercise is also accessible, there's nothing really stopping you from doing some - now! 

As it says in the title the 8 keys to mental health through exercise pertains to mental health through exercise, it is not really a weight-loss book or a book of workouts.

"It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor". - Marcus Cicero, 65 BC. 

Key 1 is about healing your mind and body through exercise. In Eastern cultures they have long-time known about the mind-body connection, and more recently this connection is being understood in the West. 

Some of the physical benefits of exercise include weight-loss; risk of heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, and high cholesterol. Also risk of cancers, improved immune system, better sleep, more energy, muscle development, PMS and longevity. 

Some of the mental health benefits of exercise include better brain chemistry, endorphins, mood, stress, happiness, calmness, cognition, mojo, relationships, self-esteem, body image and spirituality (In the case of yoga, tai-chi and the like). Basically exercise functions as a medicine in the body!

It can compliment medical care in many cases of mental illness including: Stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, addictions, personality disorders, grief, and even cognitive decline. It  may also help in cases of bad days / moods, chronic illness or pain, relationship struggles. It is believed it does all this because it raises endorphins, increases neurotransmitters in the brain and also acts as an anti-inflammatory. 

The book contains a work-book for gaining insight into what you read and making action-plans for your new or improved exercise regimen. 

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself". - Thich Nhat Hanh

Key 2 is that exercise improves your self-esteem and self worth. The relationship between self-esteem and exercise goes both ways, self-esteem helps you to exercise, and exercise raises your self-esteem. 

"To resist the frigidity of old age, one must combine the body, the mind and the heart. And to keep these in parallel vigor. One must exercise, study and love". - Alan Bleasdale

Key 3 is to exercise as a family. Exercising as a family can be so positive that you'll wonder what you ever did without it. You'll be exercising, you'll be together and you will be spending some quality time with your family. It will also help you to help your children to get into good habits of physical activity. 

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will" - Mahatma Gandhi

Key 4 is to get motivated. With lot's of work-book questions this chapter is worth a look in case you are having trouble embarking on an exercise routine or if you discontinue your routine and need to start afresh. This chapter is also interesting for it's insight to motivation in general.

 "Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind let's you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve". - Mary Kay Ash

Key 5 is about mentally preparing for action. It's about building motivational skills, overcoming roadblocks and committing to exercise in the long-term. 

"There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don't let yourself become one of them". - Ralph Marston.

Key 6 is a more in-depth look at road-blocks. Road-blocks can be physical or mental. With physical road-blocks you will have to flex yourself to modify or change sports in case of an injury, or even rest it out for a while. Perhaps you are physically disabled then you will need to do modified exercise. Please check with your health-care provider. The mental blocks can be things like 'I'm too tired' or 'I'm too stressed, and in this chapter Hibbert disputes some of these road-blocks so you can get into the action and dedicate yourself to exercise in the long-term. 

"Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them". -  Lee Haney

Key 7 introduces the FITT plan. It provides recommendations for how much time you should spend exercising each week. FITT stands for Frequency; Intensity; Time and Type. It advises on appropriate attire, including, for example a good pair of running shoes. 

Now this is the best part of the book - where she gives strategies for specific mental health concerns. In brief: For depression try running or walking. For anxiety try yoga, pilates, stretching and lifting weights. For schizophrenia and personality disorders try jogging. For bipolar try walking. For grief try high intensity workouts (Maybe spin)? Lastly for substance abuse try cardio, yoga and outdoor exercise.

" Continuous effort -  not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential". - Winston Churchill. 

Key 8 is to implement your exercise plan and flourish. This chapter is about dedication, vision and, habits. Flourishing is described by Martin Seligman (the founder of positive psychology). He refers to five components of flourishing as PERMA: Positive emotions; Engagement; Positive Relationships; Meaning and Accomplishment. So you can see that to flourish you can apply these principles to your exercise habits and it will help you to approach it with confidence and vice versa forming good exercise habits (especially peak cardio efforts) will help you to flourish. 

The amount of exercise as recommended in the book are as follows, she based it on facts outlined by the Centre of disease Control (2011). 

Adults

Moderate aerobic exercise, brisk walking, cycling, swimming 2 hours 30 minutes per week

Strength training, weights, pushups, two or more days each week.

OR

High intensity exercise, running, jogging, swimming 1 hour 15 minutes per week

OR a mix of these two options. 

You can even increase these to 300 minutes of moderate exercise or 150 of high intensity. 

Children should do about an hour per day, including cardio and strength training.  

One of the main themes of the book is motivating yourself to exercise. In key 4 we explore why we picked up the book; why we kept reading, and basically why we want to start and exercise program and do it for life. Throughout the book are workshop questions to help you find your motivation. Apparently we are most motivated when our motivation is intrinsic rather than extrinsic. We all have motivational tendencies for good or for worse but with self-love and acceptance we can change. Human beings have a need for competence, relatedness and autonomy, these can help drive us into action. The drive for mastery can also help us to start exercising and keep going. Gaining insight into ourselves and our motivations can help us change bad habits like slacking on the couch.  

Hibbert provides us with a few tips for goal setting, such as: creating a vision, starting small and gradually doing more, being patient (Rome wasn't built in a day). Not giving up, and making a solid plan. 

Now the why to exercise in the book is really inspiring - that you can actually take some sort of action to help you with your mental health. (And not just swallowing some pills) Medication takes care of some things but exercise is important too. Mental health can mean so many things. Like - happiness, good cognition, coping with stress, feeling healthier and more relaxed and even helping you to have a better physique. Human beings are not built to be sedentary - we need to get up and get moving it's just a fact of life. That's why Hibbert is saying to exercise in the long term, to develop a life-long exercise routine. 

If you have mental illness or if you want to prevent mental illness, or simply improve your mood, well being, and fitness, this book is for you. The real life characters in the book are focused on change, - so it's really good if all you do is sit on your bum, for beginning and continuing exercise. It's also good if you already exercise and want to do more and if you want to gain insight into the why's of forming an ongoing exercise habit. As a bonus the book includes info on how to exercise as a family and finding ways to get your kids (if  you have them) up and moving. 

There's no doubt about it, what Hibbert is saying we should do is hard. It's hard to get out of a rut, it's hard when your too depressed to do anything let alone going for a run, but if you can just start small you will eventually get there. Read through the book once, then re-read it slowly in sections. Try to answer all of the workbook questions. 

Still 8 Keys to Mental Health through Exercise gives us hope, hope that we can change into active engaged beings, that we can manage our mental illness and that we can change. 

The book's overall tone is really positive. It's positive about the benefits of exercise and it's positive about change. Take your time and ease yourself into new habits or deepen the habits you already have. I highly recommend this book for exercising for mental-health. The book is also backed up by various studies and scientific evidence. So rest assured you are in good hands with Christina G. Hibbert.