Is Movement *Really* Medicine?

Fitness is a potent mood elevator, yet many medical pros don't push it as a treatment. Why? WH digs in and shares how to (safely) use it as a mind mender.

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In the immortal words of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. She was right. Anyone who's ever broken a sweat knows the power of that feel-better energy after a head-clearing run or a sweaty group fitness class. And scientific research backs this up.

Seventy-eight percent of people said in a recent survey that their mental and emotional well-being was their number one reason for exercising. And in another survey, 44 percent of people rated mental health as their top health concern in 2023. Yet the conversation around utilizing physical activity as an Rx of sorts remains a complicated one, experts agree.

Exercise is often more accessible and affordable than traditional treatment methods, so it's no wonder that hashtags like #runningis mytherapy (which has been used nearly 1.3 million times on Instagram) or #movementismedicine (used 1.7 million times) are all over social media feeds.

The sticking point is that conflating exercise with therapy may be a large oversimplification. And even suggesting it's as powerful as therapy or medication, or that it can replace them, could stigmatize the use of crucial mainstream interventions, says Angel Brutus, PsyD, lead psychological services provider on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and a fellow at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

As science and the numbers show, working out is a valuable tool in dealing with mental health disorders but it's not always a solution on its own. You can use it healthily and in conjunction with other proven ways of improving mental health, but it's important to be aware of how you use exercise as an outlet. Let's unpack, shall we?

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