Exercise As a Coping Skill ? #RunRevRun

As some have noted, I have an interesting job. I work on a psych unit. The loony farm. The nut house.

Well, that?s what some people call it. I call it work, and I also call it a wonderful place, a place where children can come and be safe, get some help, learn about their triggers and learn some new ways to positively cope with the stressors of life.

You see, the psych unit isn?t a place to do long term therapy. We aren?t Freudian in approach; rather, we are based around the CBT approach- cognitive behavioral therapy. The gist of this is that we teach the kids that sometimes reality sucks, sometimes things go wrong, and the truth is that in order to be a functional person in society; we must be able to cope with these stressors in a way that is not destructive.

The fascinating thing for me is that this has profoundly affected the way I view my life. All around me I see frustration and pain. I see broken promises and I see chaos. I see people behaving the best way they know how to behave in order to survive. That survival instinct is powerful indeed. This also means that our actions, our behavior, often serve a function. We call this a hypothesized function when we see it in others. We perform a functional analysis to guess as to why people are behaving the way they are behaving. Is it communicative? Is it for entertainment purposes? Or rather, is it to self soothe their anxiety and stress? Most behavior fits into one of these three categories.

The point is, I have been thinking recently about why I am trying to exercise more often. Is it entertaining for me? Not really. I actually dread going to the gym on most days, and I especially dislike running. Is it communicative? Perhaps. I think there is a bit of communication in my behavior. I certainly am communicating that I dislike looking like I am out of shape. However, I really believe that my behavior is primarily self soothing in nature. This means that I experience anxiety and stress in my daily life (who doesn?t), and I try to deal with it through exercising. I use exercise as a coping skill. It feels good. I feel good when I work out. I can look at my body and feel frustration that I am not as fit as I used to be, and I deal with this by working that body out. It alleviates part of that anxiety for me.

Because I do not have an eating disorder or severe body image issues, a psychiatrist would call this choice a healthy coping skill. If I was suffering from body image issues or an eating disorder, exercising would obviously be a non-healthy coping skill. I would still be coping with my anxiety through exercise, but it would be destructive to me, and eventually prove to be non-sustainable. If you or someone you knows might be struggling with an eating disorder or body image disturbance, please take it seriously and seek professional help. There is no shame in asking for help. It?s actually how God made us.

The point is, our behavior is communicative, and our body seeks to deal- to cope- with stress and anxiety in a variety of ways. Exercise isn?t the only coping skill. Some people thrive through art. Others listen to music. Many people journal or write. Alcohol and tobacco, as well as other drugs, are also coping skills. The issue is finding coping skills that are not destructive, addictive, and over powering. My challenge the past two years has been to realize that some of my coping skills have not been life giving. I have had to come to terms that certain coping skills, especially alcohol and tobacco, can be destructive and harmful. They are not sustainable when abused- and some of you have experienced this.

I hope that each of you can find positive coping skills to deal with the ups and downs of life- the things that trigger you. I happen to think that exercise is a very healthy and effective coping skill, and the best part is that it can look different to everyone who does it. Some people thrive off long races and disciplined training schedules. Others might find an enjoyable walk after dinner to be the perfect coping skill. My hope is that no matter what is happening in your life, you might allow exercise to be part of that coping skill for you.

Post written by Jeff Maxin

Source: http://runrevrun.net/2011/05/exercise-as-a-coping-skill/

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