I was recently amazed when in 12 hours, 100 of you registered to hear me share the cutting edge of the science on exercise for mental health. I want to thank those of you who shared that time with me.
It is amazing to see the popularity & acceptance that movement could play a role in mental health. It has not always been like this, and I used the opportunity to reflect and share my journey in the field since 2003.
For me, the main challenges we faced as s field over 20 years ago were these:
· Mental illness was highly stigmatized (much more so than today).
Look, we have a long way to go, but goodness, we have come a long way in the past 20 years. The reasons for this are many, but many high profile and regular people talk about their own mental health challenges, and this has been incredible to see the tide turn.
However, I realize we have a long way to go. This may also partially explain why it has taken me many years to talk about my own experiences with depression and addiction. As some of you know who follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram – you will know that I have only recently started openly talk about my own struggles after a serious relapse two years ago. I guess I have struggled with my own self-stigma and am only coming to terms with this now. I hope to continue on this journey and be inspired by the many others in this space too.
· Working in mental health was also stigmatized.
Today it is quite cool/noble to work in mental health. I remember for a long time; people were at best confused why I would work in mental health and others would start by asking is it safe to work in a mental health hospital. It was quite a conversation to say I worked in a psychiatric hospital in the past. I am thankful that people are very accepting of the work we do and genuinely interested.
· Physical activity for mental health was treated with contempt.
This really was the case for my first 10 years in the field from 2003. I recall two instances early on when I was working in a long stay psychiatric hospital as a fresh-faced physio. First, every week we would plan activities on the ward for the patients and getting the patients off the ward was always ranked as least useful activity for patients by the staff. This was not what the patients said or what the data was also saying when we started collecting it. Second, I recall being given a prestigious spot to talk to the doctors for their weekly meeting about some data we collected on walking and mental health. Many of the doctors declined to attend the talk and the questions focused mainly on shouldn’t we be doing something more useful with the patients?
· The evidence base for physical activity and mental health was poor.
I have to admit it, before 2012, the evidence for the benefits of exercise for mental health was weak. But boy, did others in the field let us know. Conferences almost felt like a battleground and personal experience was not enough to get scientists to listen. We did the first ever mental health symposium at the highly influential American College of Sports Medicine meeting in 2015. Now, people welcome us with open arms due to the exponential growth in the quantity and quality of the evidence base.
Given the above, it is not surprising that movement for mental health felt like a very niche and isolated field.
So why have we come so far and that’s due to many factors, but in my opinion the data has helped shift the conversation and increase our credibility. Many people, like you, are doing wonderful work and this has really helped the world listen to us and let us have a seat at the table to improve mental health.
For those of you who missed the talk this month, next weekend I will release the follow up blog on how we change the conversation and the challenges and opportunities we now face. Stay tuned.
If you want to promptly equip yourself with the latest evidence on exercise for mental health, please feel free to attend one of my training courses below
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I wish you a happy and healthy week ahead.
Brendon
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