Sports: Physical exercise can help you improve your social skills, boost your self-esteem, overcome your fears, or combat stress. We show you the most suitable sports for each case.
Is exercise a useful tool to overcome specific daily emotional difficulties, even some psychological disorders?
The experts from gym pass (corporate wellness platform) and feel (an online psychologist app) have joined forces to discover what type of sport may be the most convenient, depending on what you want to improve on a psychological level.
“Sport, or physical activity at a general level, has a positive impact on both physical and psychological health, given that both fields influence each other: we are a unit,” a psychologist feel.
Being persistent and having a good time is essential not to get discouraged or abandon
Although, yes, he warns, “not just any exercise is suitable for anyone at any time. ” You have to take into account both your previous physical condition and your tastes.
And it is that finding sports with which we enjoy is, precisely, one of the secrets for sports to become one more habit in our lives.
Marathons
“We have to break the preconception that sports are exhausting and long-suffering,” says Gympass. “Not all people are called to run marathons or lift large amounts of weight in a gym – we know that enjoyment and fun are important to the long-term success of an active life, ” he says.
Once this has been assessed and returning to how sport can help us overcome inevitable difficulties, “it should be seen as a complement to other therapeutic techniques that can contribute to the improvement of different psychological problems.”
“But it is not something applicable to any person indiscriminately: sport is beneficial for psychological health, but it is no miracle,” Based on all this, both companies recommend the following disciplines, depending on what you want to improve.
1. Fight Anxiety With Yoga
Numerous studies have shown the positive effects of yoga against anxiety. So much so that the prestigious Mayo Clinic recommends practicing it regularly as an anti-stress tool.
The benefits of yoga are numerous, both physically and mentally. Breath control is one of the keys, making it easy to have a greater awareness of our body. It also helps us better manage emotions. And do not forget that the origin of anxiety is closely linked to them.
2. Against Depression, a Little Boxing
Boxing is much more than a fighting and contact sport. And practicing it can even help fight depression Punching a punching bag is useful for unloading frustrations, anger, rage emotions that, if not channeled in some way, lead to sadness and depression.
Also, when practicing it, endorphins (the well-being hormone) are released, which improves mood.
3. Do You Have Panic Attacks? Practice Pilates
The ability to control the body and impulses is essential when making Pilates and combat panic attacks. That is why this discipline can be an excellent way to prevent them from occurring or reduce their frequency in patients prone to them.
4. If You Have Insomnia, Run
It is one of the most straightforward sports to practice. And, as an excellent aerobic exercise, it helps us relax and sleep better at night.
Of course, you mustn’t start running just before going to sleep. For example, if you go to bed at 11, 6, or 7 in the afternoon, they are a reasonable deadline.
Running as one of the last activities of the day can cause just the opposite effect: get active and sleep, even worse.
5. Team Sport to Socialize
Self – esteem problems, lack of social skills are some of the things that make it difficult for satisfying social relationships.
If this happens to you, joining an amateur team of a sport that you like can be a great way to add tools that allow you to improve your relationship with others.
There are all kinds of them: from the most popular, such as football or basketball, to others that are not practiced as much, such as water polo or volleyball.
But they have something in common: having the rest of the team members, and communicating with them, is essential to defeating the opponent.
6. Don’t You Like to Be Alone? Try Swimming
On the contrary, some people do not tolerate feeling alone. They always look for group activities: courses, excursions, outings with friends to avoid, on many occasions, a very uncomfortable feeling of loneliness for them.
If you identify with this description and want to improve this aspect of your personality, swimming can be a good (and healthy) way to achieve it.
The water isolates you from the outside, and this helps to focus all your attention on yourself, listening to you and feeling your body while you swim.
7. Improve Your Relationship With Dance
Falling into monotony, getting carried away by day-to-day obligations, not having time for anything are some of the dangers that most couples have to face.
If you think you are experiencing a bump in your relationship, learning ballroom dancing together can be an excellent way to overcome it.
This type of dance encourages physical contact and proper coordination between the two. Also, it is a fun activity, in which communication is essential.
Without a doubt, it is an excellent option to break with the routine and share some quality time.
8. Boost Your Self-esteem With Spinning
Spinning, also known as indoor cycling, is a complete sport: it is done in a group, to the rhythm of music, you burn fat and tone (which helps to improve your figure ) All this makes it a recommended discipline for people with self-esteem problems.
Nor should we forget that, as with running, it helps us rest better, which is essential for the right emotional balance.
9. Tai Chi for ADHD
In Tai Chi, focusing on movements is paramount. And staying focused, precisely, is one of the things that people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) should work the most.
The constancy, the coordination, and control over one ‘s body are also essential in this sport, highly beneficial qualities for patients with ADHD.
10. Karate to Better Face the Duel
This martial art of Japanese origin can make it easier for the person who practices it to release their emotions, something highly recommended if you have recently lost a loved one. But that is not all:
Karate also increases body awareness and places us in the here and now, which can help manage stressful situations such as a duel.
