It's MENTAL how unhealthy they are!
🎼🎤"You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you..."🎼
Here's to hoping that the silky smooth sounds of Carly Simon managed to wrestle away your attention enough to click on my latest attempt at 'literary entertainment'...I suppose the task of maintaining your attention is now down to me...no pressure then! You might also be asking yourself whether or not this blog's actually about you specifically, and why I was so very RUDE in the title I daringly chose...well, just like a Saturday night out with the Chippendale's, all will be revealed very soon...
As ever, I've spent the last week or so wondering what on earth to write about. I haven't been lucky enough this time around to have attended a world famous endurance event as that of a major marathon, so inspiration felt, at first, a little harder to come by. Indeed, I always aim to write about a topic or subject that I feel in some way connected, with the hope that this connectivity will, to an extent, instil passion and enthusiasm throughout the article (am I even remotely qualified enough to refer to this as an 'article'?...the cheek of it!). Either way, I had to dig a little deeper on this occasion...well, sort of.
In fact, throughout the entirety of this week (and without my knowing), I've actually had several subliminal and subconscious hints for the required stimulus: vibrant posters dotted around the school in which I work, an elongated phone conversation with a very close family member on Monday, and a recently half-watched BBC documentary I used as 'background noise' whilst writing clients' programmes on Sunday evening...all three very subtly led me to the Newton-like, 'eureka moment' that I had last night whilst gasping through a (supposed) tempo run in Richmond Park. However, instead of a falling apple bouncing off my curly barnet, it was acknowledging the words sprawled across the sweat-stained t-shirt of a man shuffling along on the opposite side of the trail path: along the front of his off-grey, cotton-rich garment, it said:
"Inner strength: it's all in your head"
Shortly after we passed each other (obviously without considering saying hello, nodding or even acknowledging each other's existence...this is London after all!), the topic for this 'article' (there I go again!) hit me like a right hook from a 1987-style Iron Mike Tyson...
Mental Health.
It all became crystal clear and obvious at that exact moment: this week is in fact Mental Health Awareness Week (those posters around my school illustrate the fact beautifully). That BBC documentary is and was a fine example of how our nation is (slowly but surely) beginning to admit that this is an area that warrants so much more concern and attention than what is currently being afforded. That phone call? Well, perhaps you'll have to wait slightly longer for that one...
Mental Health issues significantly effect every single one of us, whether it's in the most obvious of guises (directly suffering from them ourselves), or in the indirect sense of simply knowing someone who is. For me, it's very much the latter. Overall, I'm fortunate enough to feel relatively happy, most of the time. However, that's not to say that I haven't gone through periods of feeling a little low or anxious: a person would have to be so lucky-lucky-luckier than an outrageously permed Kylie Minogue to sail through life without ever succumbing to the occasional negativity or glass-half-empty mindset. Therefore, it's been so incredibly refreshing to see just how far we've collectively advanced in how we view and action this very apparent illness within our society. Gone are the days of being told to 'get on with it', or being naively advised to 'pull your socks up'...a personal favourite of mine being the time I heard one 'genius' advise a family member of mine that "It's all in your head, so there's no need to worry about it"...I mean...really?!
Mental Health can indeed snake and slither its ugly way into the consciousness of just about anybody on this planet...even those of us who're still young enough to adhere to an 8pm bedtime before the dreaded Double Science lesson the following morning...so it's proving highly satisfying and incredibly important to be involved in the promoting of this very special week in my primary school setting. In fact, children are much more susceptible to mental health issues than we've ever imagined: you only need to listen to the thoughts and feelings of any 11, 13 or 16 year old in the country this week to catch a glimpse of just how stressed and upset they've been 'allowed' to become over their looming SATs exams, 11+ tests or GCSEs. It appears that, in the intervening years since I was blasting out the hits of the Spice Girls (who wasn't?!) and preparing to take my own SATs exams, we've inadvertently placed much more pressure and extrinsic 'worth' onto the outcomes of these exams, resulting in thousands of children up and down the nation in stomach-churning misery as they reluctantly scooter and cycle through the school gates over this week and next. Of course, it isn't just the children of schools who struggle with it all: teachers (and parents!) can also fall into the quick-sand of feeling overwhelmed with the stress and anxiety of assessments and those resulting statistics they so cruelly conjure up.
Schools aside, it's now a rather gargantuan task to find any job or role within society that doesn't bring with it some element of occasional stress or panic: deadlines, budgets, targets, bonuses, the list of possible potholes for those of us lucky enough to be employed goes on and on like a relentless merry-go-round (irony intended). And let's not forget those without employment: wading through each month attempting to find 'meaningful work' at the same time as attempting to feed themselves and their famished families on the ever-shrinking sums of welfare handed out by our government (starting to sound a little too political here for my liking...best put on the brakes!) In seriousness, no matter who or where you are, life's stressful scenarios are never really too far away...and where there's stress (for some at least), there's the danger that it can eventually evolve and manifest itself into mental health issues. As many of us are unfortunate to know, the seeds of these issues can grow and spread at an alarming rate, and form the catalyst to all sorts of further problems: those of the physiological manner (heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure) and those of the less-visible variety (depression, bipolar disorder and severe anxiety).
Now, you're probably sat there thinking: what an earth does all of this have to with exercise and personal training?! Well, the two can (and should) be very much intertwined. I mean, it's hardly stop-the-press news to know that exercise has been statistically proven to relieve some of the symptoms of stress (in the immortal words of Biggie Smalls, 'And if you don't know, well now you know...'). Without sounding like GMTV's florescent, lycra-clad legend that is Mr Motivator, when you exercise, your body releases clever little chemicals known as endorphins. These little legends then interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce and offset your perception of pain. To further solidify their 'legendary status', these endorphins can also trigger a positive and happy feeling in the body, which is said to be similar to that of morphine...'high' five to that! It's exactly that reason that allows people to describe that feeling they get immediately after completing a bout of exercise as 'euphoric' - and exactly why 'Tony from Finance' always bounces back into to the office after his lunch-time-5k like Henry VIII would've felt if ever he walked into Nando's during the lunch time special (I mean, surely he would've been pretty excited and pleased with himself?!). Furthermore, those clever Science Boffins have also categorically concluded that regular exercise causes a number of wonderful things to happen to the body, such as a boost in self-esteem, a drop off in negatively, a reduction in depression and an improved sleep pattern. In essence, exercise is the dog's 'you-know-what' when it comes to staving off those adverse effects of stress, anxiety or pessimism. From a personal point of view, I can't stress enough (see what I did there??) just how MUCH BETTER I feel within myself after going for a run. No matter, how tired, worried, stressed or upset I may have felt throughout the day, I ALWAYS feel much more positive, light-hearted and forward-thinking after exercise...I just hope I'm not as smug as Tony with it all!
However, I'm not in any way saying that exercise is the sole key to a completely stress-free life (you can't simply 'pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag and smile' like they 'pretended' they did way-back-when!). No - unfortunately - depression runs a lot deeper and is significantly more pertinent and complicated than that. Indeed, those drug-like effects of exercise that I mentioned earlier are, by their very nature, strictly temporary; they inevitably wear off after a short while and can leave the recipient once again feeling low, worried...or just really sad. However, exercise can (and does) certainly help with a huge number of mental health issues. It's that temporary relief that enables thousands of people around the country to 'deal' with their psychological problems in a way that remains empowering and invigorating to them as individuals. Exercise can provide the focus and drive to put together the very foundations of what can become a happier and healthier lifestyle. Preparing for a local 10k (or even just challenging yourself to climb the stairs or walk the dog without stopping for breath) can give one hope: a new and profound reason to continue to get out of bed in the morning. All of a sudden, Those goals can evolve, increase and, with it, new confidence and self-esteem can appear as if out of nowhere. As a Personal Trainer, I've witnessed this miraculously taking place many, many times: exercise can (even if only for a moment) truly transform an individual and pull them out of a 'darkness' and into a brighter, happier and more stable state-of-mind.
Perhaps the most rewarding part of my chosen vocation is to acknowledge and enjoy just how invigorated, energised and refreshed an exercise session can make a client feel. Suddenly, the impact of an argument they had with a partner that day has diminished, or the anxious feeling of an upcoming job interview appears much smaller. Exercise, as we've discussed, evokes confidence, which can transcend across many different platforms and attributes of a client's life. The confidence required to approach and tackle difficult situations in an individual's life is often only a 'workout away' (without trying to sound too much like Annie The Musical!). It truly doesn't matter how big or small this amount of exercise is: every time you get up and move (even to simply make a cup of tea or walk to the local shops) your body becomes engaged, your metabolism starts to 'fire' and those chemical releases begin to take place. Every single step counts, every movement is valuable, and every effort you make enables you to plant a single seed of hope and self-worth. These seeds - when nurtured and respected - grow; they develop into new confidence, new determination and new desire. So the next time you're feeling a little low, anxious or uncertain, just take a breath, take a step forward and remember: it's all in your head. You've got this.
Thanks for reading.
Jackson
P.S....and as for that phone conversation earlier in the week, well let's just say that it was with (without a shred of doubt) the most inspiring and determined individual I have ever had the privilege of meeting. A categorical and unsurpassable hero of mine who faces such psychological difficulties and hardships every single day...but wakes up, stands up tall and faces them HEAD ON. Mental Health issues, for this truly wonderful human being, are an everyday challenge. However, through a daily walk with the dog, a trip to the shops, sheer determination (and the occasional phone call to London), she battles through, she perseveres, and she overcomes.
She's got this.
...and keeping her identity a secret from you all?
...Mum's the word.