Is Exercise a Good Alternative for Therapy?
Nowadays, it is not uncommon for exercise to be regarded as not only significantly more helpful than therapy but also far less expensive. As with mindfulness, it is frequently regarded as a panacea.
According to this viewpoint, no matter what someone is struggling with or what is bothering them, the solution is for them to exercise. This will enable people to transform their lives while also saving them money.
Obsolete
Therapy, on the other hand, may be an anachronism and hence no longer be required. Furthermore, this could be viewed as something that someone is likely to overpay for and squander their life.
If this is the case, and exercise works and is reasonably inexpensive but treatment does not and is expensive, there is only one alternative. The answer will be exercise, and that is all there is to it.
Taking a Closer Look
When it comes to why exercise is the answer, one could argue that it allows one to feel good and even relaxed. They could even claim that endorphins are released, which, like morphine, decrease pain and make them feel better (endorphins are said to be a far more powerful painkiller than morphine).
With this in mind, it is clear that someone like this feels that someone would only seek treatment if they were depressed and/or had a mental illness.Anxiety issues The goal of therapy is to help people feel better and/or more relaxed.
A Natural Perspective
Most likely, exercise will help with this, at least while exercising and shortly thereafter. But what happens when a person is at work or out socialising and feels melancholy or anxious? They will be unable to exercise throughout this period.
Exercise does offer long-term benefits, but it, like everything else, has limitations. Furthermore, while it may appear that someone would merely seek therapy to feel better and/or relax, there is significantly more to it than that.
Another factor
If someone has this attitude, it may indicate that their mental and emotional health is generally good and that feeling depressed on occasion and/or anxious is about as far as they go. As a result, they are unaware that some people suffer from major mental and emotional difficulties.
This is also a form of projection, in which one projects one’s own experience onto others.As a result, they are oblivious to how dissimilar other people’s inner experiences are to their own.
A Closer Look
For example, someone may have very low self-esteem and require the positive regard that a skilled therapist can provide, or they may be depressed. They are estranged from their inner self and require guidance in gradually reconnecting with it. Clearly, neither of these two problems, nor any others like them, will be solved by engaging in some sort of activity.
Even if someone is suffering from sadness or anxiety, it may be vital for them to investigate what is going on at a deeper level. If they do not do this, they may feel better by exercising, but this may simply be a method for them to repress what is genuinely going on in their lives.
A Tolerable Addiction
The issue with exercise is that it is often regarded as totally positive and not potentially damaging. However, if someone believes that exercise is a substitute for therapy and receives positive feedback for it, why would it occur to them that they could be avoiding anything?
With all of the endorphins released when they exercise, repressing their genuine feelings in the process, what is truly going on for them will be hidden from their conscious consciousness. However, by becoming overly reliant on exercise to control their emotions, they may end up inflicting themselves significant harm over time.
A very different point of view
Another barrier to reaching out for help is that while exercising may appear to be the correct thing to do, the reality can be quite different if they go to treatment. They may be perceived as’ weak ‘rather than’ strong.’
It would be correct to argue that both men and women will always be judged in the same way, but a man can face significantly more criticism. Some men, who may be emotionally closed down and stunted, may believe that lifting weights, taking action, or even becoming religious, and each of these options can be seen as another way for him to repress how he truly feels, are the best ways for a man to sort out his mental health and be a real man.
Conclusion
To claim that exercise can substitute treatment is analogous to saying that synthetic food can replace real nourishment. One of these things is substantially different from the other and can not be used in its place.
Does this imply that exercise has no purpose? No, just as plastic food serves a purpose, it serves a purpose for children to play with or for display. Each thing serves a function, and one does not exist to replace another.
Nonetheless, if someone cannot afford counselling, exercise will undoubtedly benefit them. The difference here is that it will not be viewed as a replacement, but rather as an addition to a healthy diet.Meaningful relationships and a feeling of purpose, among other things, will contribute to their happiness.
Oliver J.R.Cooper is a transformational writer, English novelist, and instructor., and consultant. His intelligent remarks and analysis touch on many areas of human change, such as love, partnership, self-love, self-worth, inner child, and inner consciousness. Oliver offers hope as well as good guidance in his approximately two thousand eight hundred in-depth writings covering human psychology and behaviour.
