Exercise has
long been touted anecdotally as an effective tool for mood improvement,
but only recently has rigorous science caught up with these claims.
There is now overwhelming evidence that regular exercise can help
relieve low mood-from feelings of stress and anxiety to full depressive
episodes.
With Exercise for Mood and
Anxiety, Michael Otto and Jasper Smits, well-known authorities on
cognitive behavioral therapy, take their empirically-based mood
regulation strategy from the clinic to the general public. Written for
those with diagnosed mood disorders as well as those who simply need a
new strategy for managing the low mood and stress that is an everyday
part of life, this book provides readers with step-by-step guidance on
how to start and maintain an exercise program geared towards improving
mood, with a particular emphasis on understanding the relationship
between mood and motivation. Readers learn to attend carefully to mood
states prior to and following physical activity in order to leverage the
full benefits of exercise, and that the trick to maintaining an
exercise program is not in applying more effort, but in arranging one's
environment so that less effort is needed. As a result readers not only
acquire effective strategies for adopting a successful program, but are
introduced to a broader philosophy for enhancing overall well-being.
Providing patient vignettes, rich examples, and extensive step-by-step
guidance on overcoming the obstacles that prevent adoption of regular
exercise for mood, Exercise for Mood and Anxiety is a unique translation
of scientific principles of clinical and social psychology into an
action-based strategy for mood change. -- Publisher Marketing
