How Exercising and Properly Considering My Diet Made Me a Happier Person.

By Isabella Tarrant.

About four years ago I was diagnosed with anxiety and to begin with I was at a loss of what to do when I felt anxious. I tried talking to people; different breathing techniques; exercises supposed to ground you when a panic attack struck, but to no avail. When the time came for everyone to start University, I decided to take some time out. Not only to choose what course I wanted to do, but also for me to work on my mental health. I hadn’t figured out a method that eased my anxiety and I knew without that, I wasn’t ready to leave home.It took me a few months but I found the best reliever and aid to my anxiety was going to the gym. Like most people who had never stepped foot in a gym before, I found the idea terrifying at first. In my head it would be full of people who knew what they were doing and would judge and stare while I tried to figure it out. I can now say, very truthfully, that around three years in, this is not the case at all. Everyone is focused on themselves and ensuring that they have a good workout. I realised pretty quickly that cardio was not for me and started weight training about two and a half years ago. It was like a deer in the headlight to begin with, I could see all these other people using free weights and machines, knowing I wanted to start but not knowing how. So, I started by looking at fitness accounts on Instagram. A word of advice is to watch them but also research the exercises to make sure that you know how to do them correctly – I think the initial ‘gym anxiety’ I had is what made me do just that and I’m really glad I did. Without knowing the correct form and technique for an exercise is how you hurt yourself, so I studied up on the exercises I had seen.Around three months into weight training, one of the personal trainers at the gym came over commented on my form doing an exercise. I explained instantly that I was new to weight training and had been following different people and researching to make sure I was doing the right thing because I was waiting to be told I had no idea what I was doing. Instead I was met with a compliment that I was doing it correctly and well at that. Yet, getting that reassurance from someone whose job it is to have that knowledge was such a confidence boost. Since moving to Sheffield and starting at a new gym, I have made an effort to know and speak to the personal trainers because they are full of knowledge and are there to help you as a user of the gym and its facilities. I’d highly recommend anyone who is either at a gym or wants to join on to do the same. It not only makes you feel more comfortable, but also means you’re not afraid to ask for help. There are of course, plenty of health benefits when it comes weight training in particular; it boosts your metabolism; helps build your strength and it make your bones stronger to name a few. For me, the real benefit was that it allowed me to channel my anxious energy into something that benefitted me both mentally and physically.

The anxiety I experience comes through in a wave, it starts small but gradually increases until it becomes a full on panic attack. Exercising allows me to find a use for this excess energy. Instead of sitting still, counting my breaths slowly or listing things around me that I could see - I am channeling it into doing something. Not only did exercising remove my anxious energy and make me feel grounded by doing something, it also helped me to feel stronger. I say this as someone who has worked out when I have started to feel anxious and when I haven’t. Going to the gym when I feel anxious allows me to overcome that wave, it doesn’t go away instantly but 15 minutes in and I have forgotten that feeling completely. Going to the gym when I don’t feel anxious allows me to feel in control of my mental health and my body. Ultimately the endorphins and buzz you get after you work out is what makes you realise how worthwhile it is mentally. The changes and results you notice physically make you realise the positive effects that training has on your body. Having begun this new journey with the gym, my next thought was my diet. I am fortunate enough to have had a positive relationship with food. I would say that exercising regularly allowed this to make smarter decisions within this relationship as it encouraged me to introduce more fruit and veg into my meals. I know that the key to keeping myself feeling good is balance so, while I could eat pasta all day and every day – I’m really not kidding, there are videos of me, before I could even talk, where I’ve finished my own bowl of pasta and banging on the side of it in an attempt to negotiate with my mum to feed me my brothers bowl– I’m serious. So, despite my mums best efforts to get me to eat anything other than pasta, I will continue eating an unimaginable amount of it, whilst also making sure that it is a healthier option. For example, using whole wheat with loads of veg in it because I know that it digests better and will, in the long run, make me feel better too. I still allow myself to eat foods that are less healthy; sometimes when the time of the month hits your body is just crying out for a domino’s or a bag or two of Percy pigs. The allowance of this balance between healthy and less healthy is crucial. I haven’t changed my lifestyle by any means, I am simply trying to be smarter with it, for myself. The choices are focused on making myself feel good and doing so by following an intuitive method. Ultimately, I’m focusing on doing things that intrinsically feel good to me. Making these changes in my exercising and eating has had a huge impact on my mental wellbeing. I feel stronger and healthier in both the mental and physical aspects of those words. I know when I should go to the gym and push myself to go and when I should rest. Having this communication with myself has really allowed me to be a happier and calmer person. I am well aware that you might read this and feel that a lot of this doesn’t apply to you, which is fair as we’re all different. Regardless, I hope you take away what listening to yourself and your body can do.