What Do You Think About Drugs To Help Mental Health

Does exercise help mental health?

A few thoughts...Exercising too close to bed-time will disrupt your natural sleep, and sleep is an even more important factor in good mental health than exercise. Try a different time of day - when you get up, say, or at lunchtime. I'd aim to put at least 4 hours between finishing your workout and bedtime. (Also, watch the caffeine during the day, and don't have any as a workout supplement)It's cardio exercise that delivers most mental health benefits; you don't say what the makeup of your routine is, but try spending less time on the weights, and more time on the treadmill.Exercising when you're stressed can raise your aggression levels. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to get rid of anger or aggression isn't to punch something or 'vent' it in some other way - by pushing yourself in the gym, say. It's much better to use some stress reduction techniques like meditation or yoga - even if it's just for 5 or 10 mins before you work out - so that your workout can just be about you and your body. Keep your workouts to under an hour. If you can't get everything done you want in that time, consider doing a split routine. Cortisol, the stress hormone, rises during a workout, in order to enable the muscle fibres to breakdown ready to be re-built bigger and stronger. But if you work out for too long they will rise too high (especially if you were stressed *before* you started your workout) and start to make you feel worse rather than better.Try focusing on just the exercise, rather than listening to music. See if you can spend the time just noticing how your muscles feel as they are working, or on performing the exercise with perfect form. Each time your mind starts to wander onto something else, gently bring it back to the exercise. Research has shown that mind-wandering makes you less happy, even if you're thinking about something happy, than if you just focused on what you were doing.Meditation is also really great for mental health. If you can find a way to add meditation to your daily routine as well as the exercise, do it. You won't regret it!

How can you request being put on a drug for a mental disorder that you personally know will help?

If you have a particular mental health issue (depression let’s say), and in the past you’ve had luck with a specific anti-depressant (Zoloft for example), you would talk to your prescriber (hopefully a PA or Dr specializing in psychiatry) and let them know why you’d prefer a trial of this medication (it worked well for others in your family with the same disorder, you’ve used it successfully in the past without side effects, etc.) . Most treatment providers welcome interaction with their clients when making treatment decisions, so if you have an informed discussion about wanting to employ something specific as an appropriate therapeutic treatment (specific medication that is prescribed for specific mental health condition) this often a welcomed interaction.If however the medication desired isn’t typically recommended for your diagnosis, is contraindicated due to physical health issues you have, or you don’t even have a formal diagnosis, you may have less luck in having this conversation, or getting the therapeutic treatment you may be desiring.Bottom line, talk to your team. Every treatment professional is a little different. Some are more open to having these conversations, while others are used to solidly being in the driver’s seat as well as navigating the journey. If they’re not even open to having a discussion (given you have a diagnosis, and the medication you mention would be indicated) that is somewhat problematic, but all may not be lost.Sometimes a discussion with your therapist on the topic, and a plea for them to speak with your prescriber can also hold some weight should the initial conversation not produce the desired results.Best of luck, hope all goes well!