Known for his positive attitude, Eric The Trainer details the real factors in fitness that help fight depression.
Every day we learn more and more about mental health. The way we discuss depression and other mental health illnesses is vastly different today than it was even 10 years ago. With a global pandemic changing daily life, there are many people with mental health problems that are finding it hard to cope. Eric The Trainer is a bodybuilding and fitness coach who made a career out of positivity intersecting with fitness. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Eric The Trainer details the reality on how to use fitness to help cope with depression.
Depression isn’t something that can be “solved” in a traditional sense. It’s not something that can be cured or go away. It’s a mental illness that will likely stick with a person throughout his or her entire life. That doesn’t mean it has to be a life of suffering. Medication, therapy, and changing habits can go a long way in fighting depression.
Eric The Trainer might not be a doctor – but he’s made it his life goal to ensure optimism and positivity are a key factor in his career as a fitness trainer. With the world facing a global pandemic and social distancing keeping people isolated, depression can be harder to live with now more than ever.
That’s why we asked Eric The Trainer to breakdown his personal tactics for fighting depression and how fitness can be a huge factor as a coping mechanism. While fitness has often been seen as a great stress reliever and even good meditation – Eric goes into detail about the step by step process anyone can start doing to help uplift their mindset.
A key factor is how you immediately start your day. This is important. Fitness might be a good way to feel better – but it doesn’t work if you do it at the end of the day. How you start your day can have a huge impact on your outlook. While it might be hard to break the habit, Eric The Trainer suggests waking up early to fit in some form of excercise. This doesn’t have to be full on weight training. It can be a jog or even a walk. Something to get your body moving, release some endorphins, and kick start your day.
Eric then suggests taking an immediate relaxing shower to cool off – followed by a health breakfast. This is another important key factor. The breakfast meal needs to be truly healthy. No sugary cereal or boatloads of bacon and sausage. Make sure fruits and greens are included. Add some tea to help you relax. What you put in your body directly affects how you feel. The first meal of the day can have a huge impact on your mental health.
Lastly, Eric The Trainer suggests something a bit outside of the fitness space. He asks that each person facing darkness make time to consume some sort of uplifting entertainment. Music, movies, television – any sort of art you can throw yourself into. Connecting to your own emotions through art can help you feel connected with yourself and the human experience as a whole. It can make you feel less lonely at a time when social distancing has kept us apart.
You can check out Eric The Trainers full breakdown on how to help fight depression in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above.
