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I'm the author of four books: Warrior SOS, The Work of Death, Together Forever, and Leaders Wanted. I'm in the doc film Please Remove Your Shoes. I've blogged for The Washington Times, and I write for Guns.com. I've worked for the high-profile U.S.-led Roadmap to Mideast Peace in Israel and Palestine. I've also worked as a SWAT team leader, a Federal Air Marshal and a sole-source training instructor on a classified contract with a U.S. government customer. My master's degree is in Military Studies and terrorism. I'm a former noncommissioned and commissioned Army officer, with service in Iraq. I've been Scuba diving and skydiving; I have trained with members of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team, and I'm an FBI-trained crisis negotiator. My interests lie in helping others and in strengthening America through inspiring moral courage, government fiscal responsibility and accountability, and maintaining principles that have made--and will continue to make--the United States of America a blessed and prosperous country. I'm a father of six, a husband, and a police officer. I reside in Utah, and I'm a Mormon. See also https://jeffreydenning.wordpress.com.

July 2, 2014

Exercise helps decrease depression and anxiety mood disorders

In the book On Combat, by Lt Col. Dave Grossman (ret), he recommends warriors should work out. In the book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, Dr. Kevin Gilmartin also suggests that working out is helpful.

PTSd is an anxiety and mood "disorder" (although I like to think of PTS as less of a "disorder" and more as something that happens when warriors face horrible experiences and
traumas associated with their livelihood).  Regardless, even though these two compelling books mentioned that exercise is important for managing the stresses that come from post traumatic living, and even though I didn't doubt them, I found some scientific proof.  Here it is:

“Exercise can be a magic drug for many people with depression and anxiety disorders, and it should be more widely prescribed by mental health care providers, according to researchers who analyzed the results of numerous published studies.  Exercise has been shown to have tremendous benefits for mental health,” says Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

“Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger,” Smits says. “Exercise appears to affect, like and antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviors.  For patients with anxiety disorders, exercise reduces their fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing.”
Source: http://blog.smu.edu/research/2010/04/01/study-exercise-should-be-prescribed-more-often-for-depression-anxiety/

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