# Struggles and Support > Nutrition, Supplements and Exercise >  >  Exercise

## Misssy

There used to be this "common wisdom" that exercise is a stress reliever...(anxiety reliever) 

Though I'm wondering if stress makes it harder for the body to release endorphin ...like conversely if a person is already stressed out...then exercise is harder to do

When I'm only slightly stressed out then exercise feels good 

When I'm at a higher level of anxiety though exercise feels more painful like my muscles are more fatigued. 

Seems like exercise is good for those who are already doing pretty well. 

Times when things were going better in my life I was also able to exercise more because my life overall was working better. 

When my life isn't working well it's harder for me to exercise...

It's NOT the other way around...exercise and then your life will get better...

Just saying I think I see a fallacy in the old cliche about exercise to reduce stress.

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## takethebiscuit

Prolonged periods of stress and anxiety manifest in the body. You tense your muscles, your heart rate might beat faster than normal on a regular basis etc.

These changes in your body could make exercise difficult to start with. Then again, anyone who doesn't properly warm up is going to find getting started with exercise hard.

Exercising will not necessarily make your life better.

But it most likely will make your overall health better. Which could then aid you in making your life better. 

I am not a doctor so do check with your doctor and or a qualified professional before undertaking exercise or changes to your fitness level.

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## Misssy

Yeah, true I agree. 

There are times when I notice I feel really good after exercise and it's easier for me to start it and complete it on those days and it's like okay it's working. 

Then other days during HIGH stress periods it's harder to start it and I want to stop after 10 minutes.

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## Ironman

I just finished a six mile run.  It gets me nice and worn out for a while.  I should be ready to go to sleep within a few hours  ::): .

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## Renegade

working out 3 days a week and its a pain to get 5 hours straight going, only slept 3-4 hours today, exercise dont help with sleep its bs.

When i am happy its hard to sleep too, when i am depressed, it's easy.

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## VickieKitties

Whether I'm really stressed out or not, I get my [BEEP] kicked at work all night.  It's sometimes hard to find the energy to work out on top of that.  Up and down big ladders with heavy [BEEP] all night is a pretty good workout.

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## WineKitty

Exercise is a proven stress reliever.

I was working out much more often until about the last 4 months.  But I have an underlying medical condition that has sapped the energy right out of me.

In order to get back into the groove, I have just started to committing to small things just to get a regular routine going again.  20 minute dog walk.  20 minutes with weights. 15 to 20 on elliptical.  I know that sounds really small but doing something for just 20 minutes a day can get you in the routine of making it part of your day and building from there.  If you feel you can commit to more, go for it.  But commit to at least 6 days a week.  

I have started/stopped more times that I can count recently but by trying to take on too much.

I have also been entertaining the idea of more relaxing things like yoga and Pilates which are hard but also relaxing and focus on deep breathing.

Again, for me it is so hard.  I work all shifts, varying days off, and am so tired from an endocrine problem.

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