Tyson Fury is very open about his struggle with mental health. I stumbled across this short video of him talking about what he has found helpful and it’s super inspiring.
What I found interesting is how much emphasis he puts on physical exercise. He consistently comes back to it as being the foundation for feeling good.
Here’s a few quotes:
If I don’t train for two days, I feel totally depressed. You need to stimulate the mind. And I think training is the perfect way to do it. Working out, exercising. Whether you can do a lot or a little – you must do something.
I’m very very sure that working out and having a routine in your life is the answer for mental health problems.
When I don’t go to the gym, I feel terrible. But, when I train on a daily basis, I feel great. Now, I know if I train on a daily basis for the rest of my life, then I don’t think I’m going to suffer with health problems again.
This matches my own experiences. If I push myself hard for an hour or so, I feel great afterwards (even if I felt anxious or unhappy before). I think it’s part physiology and just feeling really good with yourself for working through the discomfort. That feeling lasts for at least a few hours, and often the rest of the day.
If you can get for or five sessions like this done a week, and then some type of active recovery on the other days (walking, biking etc.) – it makes such a difference. I know it does for me.
The video covers a bunch of other advice around mental health, so it’s well worth a watch.
