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Five Things I Have Learnt About the Mind-Body Connection

What does going to the gym have to do with going to therapy? For Professor Sarah Niblock, emotional and physical maintenance are inseparable enterprises. Nine years ago, feeling unhealthy and depressed, she decided to take her fitness in hand – and was amazed to discover how exercise could enable personal growth and self-knowledge. From building mental stamina to releasing trauma, here the CEO of UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) shares the insights that getting physically fit has given her into the relationship between our bodies and our minds.

Like millions of people worldwide, I’ve started 2019 with a commitment to improving my health and fitness. Most evenings, you can find me lifting barbells or blasting through high intensity interval training on a rowing machine. Yes, I sound like a cliché-in-lycra but do read on. I firmly believe our bodies need to be healthy for our minds to function optimally. I am not looking for social media likes, I just want to be able to run around the park with my future grandkids. Most of all, I need to let go of the day and manage the inevitable anxieties that come with being a CEO.  

The ancient Greeks were right. Our thoughts, feelings, and attitudes can affect our biological functioning, and what we do with our physical bodies can affect our mental state. In fact, until about 300 years ago, most systems of medicine treated the mind and body as a whole. It wasn’t until the 17th century that Western cultures began to see the body and mind as distinct entities.

Our bodies and minds are not equipped to handle chronic stress without consequences. Most symptoms are physical: headaches, stomach aches, muscle tension or pain, sleep problems, chest pain, fatigue, changes in sex drive. Stress also causes an increase in the hormone cortisol, which researchers have linked to serious health issues.

I started my fitness journey nine years ago aged 44 and I was in poor shape physically and feeling depressed. I used some of my life savings to enlist a brilliant personal trainer and I have no doubt it has added many years to my life. From feeling like I needed a double hip replacement (I kid you not), I now have five marathons and an ultramarathon under my belt – all run in my late 40s and early 50s.

Here’s what I have learnt along the way, which may come in useful when working with clients:

1. You do the things you think you cannot do.

Our bodies are designed to handle small doses of mental or emotional stress, and some of it is necessary for us to stay on top of our responsibilities and to remain safe in our environments. Learning how to breathe well through exercise is a game changer for everyday life.

2. Endurance exercise really does build up your mental stamina.

It helps you to handle stress. That doesn’t mean plodding the pavements for hours. Swinging a kettlebell, walking in the park or an hour-long yoga or stretching class can be just as effective at helping you keep going.

3. If you want to change you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.

Exercise takes me past my comfort zone but that’s when the magic happens. The natural high after training or a walk in nature is reward in itself.

4. It’s astonishing what we all suppress, the trauma we each hold in our muscles.

It’s amazing what early memories suddenly rise to the surface when you’re under healthy physical pressure. Group exercise such as circuits or running clubs can be intensely supportive and a great leveller. Doing a round of burpees or sit-ups with others can forge a deep bond and open up all kinds of conversations.

5. It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.

Through exertion, you discover things about yourself that you never imagined you are capable of. And it cuts through all social strata – culture, gender, class – to the real essence of you.

My vision for psychotherapy is that it becomes an everyday practice akin to going to the gym. We shouldn’t wait till there’s a problem to seek therapy. If we treat mental and emotional maintenance as we do maintaining a healthy diet or regular exercise routine, then we should develop the self-knowledge and resources to handle what life inevitably throws at us.
 

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Sarah Niblock

A journalist, broadcaster and academic, Sarah became CEO of UK Council for Psychotherapy in September 2017, and is tasked with shaping the organisation to play a leading role in improving access to high quality talking therapies. She is cut from very different cloth to most professors and CEOs we know. Previous to joining UKCP, she was professor and associate dean at University of Westminster’s School of Media, Arts and Design and she has published research on media, trauma and ethics as well as popular music and identity. An academic fellow of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University, she commentates on media ethics, specifically trauma and journalism, for a range of outlets. Sarah is co-author (with Stan Hawkins) of Prince: The Making of a Pop Icon (Ashgate) and numerous other books, chapters and articles. She has presented to the paying public on pop culture at Latitude, the Southbank and the ICA.

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