{"id":7439,"date":"2016-08-26T17:40:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-26T07:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eatplaythrive.com.au\/?p=7439"},"modified":"2017-05-22T10:41:39","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T00:41:39","slug":"exercise-your-mood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eatplaythrive.com.au\/exercise-your-mood\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise your Mood…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tam<\/a> is part of our team and community at Eat Play Thrive. She is a movement coach and personal trainer<\/strong> with a passion for improving mood and mental health through smart, purposeful movement and exercise. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have had a session with Tam<\/a> you’ll know her for her boundless energy, enthusiasm and bundles of fun. In short, she makes your entire body smile<\/strong>.\u00a0In recognition of “Exercise your Mood”<\/strong> month, an initiative by the Black Dog Institute<\/a>, Tam will be running free<\/strong> 30min myofascial release (self massage) and mindfulness sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10.15am during September at Eat Play Thrive. Everyone welcome (including non-members; no booking required).<\/div>\n
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Thanks to Tam for writing this blog post…<\/div>\n
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Do you ever feel very alone; l mean like you have nobody? That every single day and thing in your life is challenging and you are struggling to function?<\/strong> According to the Black Dog Institute<\/a>, statistics indicate 1 in 4 Australians experience mental illness<\/strong> in any given year and these statistics rise significantly for young Australians and those living in regional and remote Australia.<\/p>\n

This is a topic l’m very passionate about. Why you might ask? Well l grew in a country Victoria.\u00a0 I never felt that l had that truly one best friend and l didn’t fit in. My parents were not living together and therefore my mum had to work and she was not around much.\u00a0 I didn’t feel l had any support at home. Over the previous years l had exercised by playing squash, basketball, netball and volleyball. However as a 15 year old l lost the motivation<\/strong> to participate in any exercise.<\/div>\n
I slowly felt a feeling of numbness<\/strong>, not just a flat day that everybody has from time to time. Not just sad, happy nor angry feelings – it was a numbness, emotionless.\u00a0 This was the darkest of places that l felt l couldn’t get out of, which in turn my family would also be affected by.<\/div>\n
After a very turbulent time through my teens and then my early twenties, l found that l loved running. I would run at least 3 times per week. This brought a sense of calm to me that l had experienced earlier in my teens when l played all the various sports. I then started to compete in fun runs, so l had distance goals as well as time goals, all the while getting those great chemicals in my brain making me feel fantastic.\u00a0 Then l tried the short distance triathlon’s which l became addicted to. I also found if l was unable to exercise my mood deteriorated<\/strong>.<\/div>\n
There came a time where my body indicated to me that it didn’t want me to run anymore, with continuing injuries. So l needed a new “high” to replace my “runners high”<\/strong>. I found boxing, it was physical for body & mind. I loved boxing<\/strong> so much although l was not a movement coach at that time l went and became a level 1 boxing instructor. Still to this day l love the high that you get from boxing. I have become so aware of that feeling that if l haven’t exercised, my mood becomes low and it’s so easy to lose motivation. However as soon as l get back out there again my whole body and mind feel clearer.<\/div>\n
As l look back now l realise just how much l have achieved<\/strong>… year 10 high school drop out, then\u00a0a successful 15 years of \u00a0Workers Compensation\/ Public Liability litigation, 3 Children, obtained a degree at the age of 42 and finally worked out what l wanted to be when l grew up, a Movement Coach, to help people move better and promote exercise for positive mental health.<\/div>\n
Depression, known as the “Black Dog”<\/strong>\u00a0can be debilitating but there are ways to manage it. The Black Dog Institute says, “take that dog for a walk.”<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Here are some ideas that maybe helpful to try:<\/div>\n