It Changed My Life
How Running Everyday Cured my Anxiety
Running is like breathing; its the most natural thing in the world
I have never been much of a sports person. I rather stay home and listen to music and read a good book. I enjoy long walks in the evening, but I stopped doing that after the Pandemic.
Last year in December, I decided to start running. Ever since then, I have been running every day. Even if it's for 5–10 minutes, I go running. Over the weeks, it got better, and now If I don't go running, I feel itchy.
Say Goodbye to Anxiety
For Most of my life, I have had anxiety problems. I didn't want to get out of the house. I didn't feel like interacting with people, and I got anxious every time I needed to confront something slightly outside my comfort zone.
Was running made me feel even worse since I wanted to be more outgoing, confident and less anxious. Since I never enjoyed team sports such as Soccer (Football) or Basketball. I enjoyed swimming, but it wasn't convenient to go swimming every day. I didn't want to go to the gym since it triggered my Anxiety even more.
So when I decided to go running, it helped me in ways I could only imagine. I felt much better, happier. I was able to feel good about myself, more confident. After a week of running, although I was tired most of the day, I was content. I was content that I was finally doing an activity that I enjoyed.
As I ran for a month, I realized that want to Run every day. It got better each day. I met more people who enjoyed running. On top of that, I found out that my favourite writer happens to write a book about running.
Murakami's book "What I talk about When I talk about Running" was an inspiration that added to my love for running. I realized that I wanted to run long-distance running. So each day, whether it's running or bodyweight workout, I am slowly building myself and training. Here’s one of my favourite quotes from the book:
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.” — Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
When You run consistently for months, there are days when you hit this state where you feel so free while running. I think that is what's called "Runners High". I think that's what cured my Anxiety.
I am grateful that I have legs to run. If you feel stuck in life, I highly recommend trying out running for a month. It helped me in ways I never thought; perhaps it will do the same for you. : )
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Here are my other works:
5 Best Books For Beginner Readers In Their 20s
5 ways to stop feeling like crap and improve your life in your 20s
Bars and Melodies — Micro fiction story
