Effectiveness of physical activity for improving depression, anxiety, distress
If I can get on my soapbox: physical activity is still very underrated, especially by people who spend a lot of time on the computer. I have so many colleagues with anxieties and other pathologies that would be greatly relieved by even modest physical activity.<p>But there are good cultural reasons why nerds avoid physical activity. North American cultural tropes, especially from high school on up, make out physical activity to be a kind of war. It is supposed to require extreme discipline and a punitive degree of focus. It&#x27;s supposed to separate winners from losers. Those who are lesser (too weak, too fat, too short, too... whatever) are just embarrassing and should not try to do physical things in public view, unless they are trying to atone for their weaknesses with self-flagellation.<p>Lately I decided I would do physical activity but <i>only when it was fun</i>. I had no goals at all other than fun. I had to do something every other day and then stop when it wasn&#x27;t fun. Sometimes this meant very short bursts of activity, or going to the gym for ten minutes and then leaving. I also explicitly was not trying to lose weight at all. I was trying to hack my psychology and associate physical activity with pleasure.<p>I think it&#x27;s working. I&#x27;m much stronger and my endurance is much higher. I set myself goals just for fun at the gym or on my bike and then complete them.<p>And, full disclosure, I haven&#x27;t lost any weight at all (in accordance with my goals!) but my body composition appears to be changing somewhat.