Focusing on Fitness Can Help Prevent Self-Harm

When you’re struggling with self-harm and the symptoms of depression, finding motivation to do anything can be a daily battle. For those battling mental illness, rolling out of bed in the morning can often cause more anxiety than the minutes leading up to a big test or interview. It can be difficult to imagine this intense lack of motivation if someone hasn’t experienced the draining, pulling force self-harm, depression and other mental illnesses can have on a person but what I've learned is that focusing on fitness can help prevent self-harm.

But when someone with these struggles (who isn’t athletically driven) is asked to work-out, do you think they will instantly jump at the chance?

It takes a lot of push for many people to get themselves to a gym or a fitness class. For those who self-injure, it is crucial to improve their physical health if they want their mental and emotional health to follow. The first few steps are often the most difficult part of making any sort of change and those struggling to stop self-harm clearly understand that difficulty. Some who self-harms may not want to worry about their fitness when they already have to worry about staying away from giving in to unsafe urges. However, focusing on fitness could be a positive distraction that could prevent self-harm.

Fitness Can Help Prevent Self-Harm Urges

During my years of self-harm, I danced ballet almost every night of the week. On top of that, I was also either performing in the Color Guard or dancing in the musical our high school was producing. It was good having something to take my focus away from cutting, even if those distractions didn’t always work. There were times when a dancer would ask if I had been scratched after noticing a band aid on my wrist. Sometimes, dance was stressful just because I couldn’t wear any bracelets and the make-up I put on to cover my marks would disappear due to sweat. However, after time spent fighting these frustrations, I finally was able to focus on dance as being my healthy outlet instead not scarring my arms.

Recently, I decided to step up the amount of exercise I do. I typically teach two Zumba classes a week, but realized that would not be enough if I wanted to see a serious change in my physical and mental health. I have started taking dance classes again as well as yoga and Barre Fitness classes. I signed myself up to become a Certified PiYo Instructor and, similar to when I had spent the money on the Zumba certification training two years ago, I’ve started taking more PiYo classes to prepare my body.

Just in the last couple of weeks, I finally feel like I may be climbing out of that hole I’ve been stuck in this winter. The change hasn’t been dramatic, but any kind of positive change is worth recognition. Stepping up my exercise has reminded me how energized I feel once that class, or workout, is completed.

Find Fitness That Works for You to Prevent Self-Harm

I’ve discovered there are so many more ways to stay fit than just running on a treadmill. Even though there’s a large amount of people who can workout on a machine for hours, there are just as many people who don’t find that kind of exercise thrilling (I being one of them). Find a type of fitness that reaches out to you and use the soreness you feel from the workout to replace the self-harm you do to your body.

Here are some new and unique forms of fitness to try to prevent self-harm urges:

• PiYo – PiYo is a quick-moving combination of Yoga and Pilates focusing on strengthening the core and toning your muscles.
• Barre Fitness – With the help of a ballet barre, Barre Fitness works all your major muscle groups.
• Zumba – Zumba is a dance-based workout that intertwines Latin American music with the popular music of today.
• Aerial Yoga – Aerial Yoga is a combination of yoga and acrobatics which uses a hammock like structure to strengthen and stretch your muscles.

You can also find Jennifer Aline Graham on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and her website is here. Find out more about Noon through Amazon.com.