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Physical Exercise and Psychological Well Being

   

Added on  2021-04-19

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Running head: PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEINGPHYSICAL EXERCISE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEINGName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor note

1PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEINGDepression even cause physical damage to an individual as it results in the loss ofappetite and the enthusiasm to do anything. As per the World Health Organization (WHO),depression can lead to a serious health condition that might cause the affected individual tosuffer and perform badly at school or work or within the family and society(Who.int, 2018). Itmight even lead to suicide. Close to a million people, commit suicide every year that stems fromdepression. In case of Mauritius, depression has been identified as a critical issue as per the MauritiusNon Communicable Diseases Survey 2015. According to the survey, 13.1% men and 19.6%women suffer from depression. The country was ranked 93 in the list of countries with mostcases of depression in 2014 (Health.govmu.org, 2018). Every year, hundreds of people in thecountry commit suicide due to depression. It is important to understand the reason for depression but it is more important tounderstand the perfect remedy for this illness. Physical exercise is a very effective means tocontrol depression and even end it. It has been found that physical exercise contributes majorlyto reducing depressive symptoms amongst individuals. It might lead to the assumption thatsportsperson never suffer from depression since they are most active physically but the truth isotherwise. This paper will shed light on the association between physical exercise andpsychological wellbeing focusing mainly on depression and anxiety. The essay will also analyzethe repercussions of depression in sports and the need to include physical exercise as afundamental requirement in addressing this issue. Any physical activity results in the improvement of health and reduces the danger ofacquiring diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even depression. According to

2PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEINGReiner et al., (2013), “physical activity is associated with better health” and it “prevents thedevelopment of disease”. One of the most important benefits of physical exercise is that itresults in a healthier and stronger state of mind. When one is engaged in any sort of physicalactivity, it gives that person the chance to divert all the negative thoughts and feel relaxed.Studies around the globe have found that exercise is an exceedingly effective method to fightmental disorders like depression. Zschucke, Gaudlitz and Ströhle (2013) point out that exerciseor any physical activity “can have therapeutic benefits when used as sole or adjunct treatment inmental disorders”. Their study found that the target group with higher levels of anxiety had lowerbenefits of physical activity whereas those with lower levels of anxiety had better results ofphysical activity. However, with increased attention of physical activity, the target group showedsigns of improved mental stability. In the field of sports, although physical activity is the maximum, depression and anxietyare also a common occurrence. The prime reason for depression amongst sportspersons is theregular occurrence of injuries that compel them to stay out of the field for weeks or even months.Apart from that, negative incidences in their personal life also exert influence in their mindscausing stress and anxiety. Rabinowitz, Li and Levin (2014) mention that non-sports persons aremore vulnerable to depression and anxiety that the sports persons. The authors put forward theirargument by stating that since non-sports persons are less active physically than the sportspersons; they are more likely to incur depression and anxiety. As discussed in the previous section, being psychologically healthy has a lot to do withbeing physically active. Psychological wellbeing refers to an individual’s positive state of mind.It comprises positive relationship with the people around, self-sufficiency and development.Psychological wellbeing is achieved when an individual is able to balance between challenges

3PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEINGand rewards that life throws at him or her. As explained by Houben, Van Den Noortgate andKuppens (2015), psychological wellbeing allows a person to achieve difficult things in lifewithout having to worry about the results. They further comment that psychological wellbeing“is characterized by specific patterns of emotional fluctuations across time”. In their view,psychological flourishing or wellbeing is evident in a person when he or she demonstratescontrol over his or her emotional flux. One can agree with the authors because controllingemotions is one of the toughest things to do and those who achieve that can be considered to bepsychologically sound. Carol D. Ryff was probably the first psychologist who developed a scaleto measure different elements of psychological wellbeing. Popularized as The Ryff Scales ofPsychological Well-being, it had six main facets. These included self-acceptance, establishmentof quality ties, sense of autonomy, ability to manage complex environments, pursuit ofmeaningful goals and sense of purpose in life and continued development and growth asindividual (Ryff, 2014). These facets help explain the level of psychological wellbeing possessedby an individual. Those who score high on the scale generally have a better psychologicalwellbeing than those who score low. Lower scores indicate the presence of or the increase indepression and anxiety in the individual. Ryff’s scale provides a solid ground from which onecan understand the meaning of being psychologically well; however, it cannot be taken as theonly source to understand the topic. Physical activity helps in acquiring control over many of the facets explained in Ryff’sscale like sense of autonomy, managing complex environments and continued development andgrowth. Gladwell et al. (2013) believe that physical activity has a positive influence not only onthe psychological wellbeing but also on physiological wellbeing as well. The authors state thatphysical activity positively influences psychological wellbeing that too within a short duration.

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