What are mood disorders?
Mood disorders are mental health conditions that affect a person’s emotional state. Types of mood disorders include:
- Major depressive disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Persistent depressive disorder
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
- Postpartum depression
Though not a mood disorder, various anxiety disorders may also affect your emotional state and cause feelings of sadness, irritability, shame, guilt, or hopelessness.
Primary treatments for mood disorders include psychotherapy and prescription medication. However, no single method works for all people.
NY FITPROS is a premier personal training and post-rehabilitation facility that includes a team of experienced medical exercise specialists who provide therapeutic exercise programs to help people who are struggling with mood disorders.
How can medical exercise help mood disorders?
“We were never designed for the sedentary, indoor, sleep-deprived, socially-isolated, fast-food-laden, frenetic pace of modern life.”
—Stephen Ilardi, PhD
Mood disorders affect your emotional, mental, and physical health. People who suffer from a mood disorder are at greater risk of developing chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. For almost 20 years, NY FITPROS has created individualized care programs to help people of all ages, fitness levels, and walks of life. They help you maximize your day-to-day life by keeping your hypertension under control through exercise, nutritional guidance, and improved self-care.
NY FITPROS believes in the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) model for mood disorders developed by Dr. Stephen Ilardi of the Department of Psychology at The University of Kansas.
Elements of TLC:
- Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements:
- From naturally occurring plants and the animals that eat them
- Antidepressant and anti-inflammatory properties
- Improve serotonin and dopamine circulation
- Anti-Rumination Strategies
- Rumination refers to dwelling on negative thoughts and feelings
- Exercise and socialization, both of which can be accomplished at NY FITPROS, can put a stop to this habit
- Exercise
- Increases energy
- Boosts mood
- Endorphins - the body’s natural painkiller and antidepressants
- Social Support
- The medical exercise specialists will encourage you to attain your goal and help you stay motivated!
- The NY FITPROS environment consists of people with similar goals and challenges. Together, you will celebrate successes, work to overcome obstacles, and hold each other accountable!
- Sleep Hygiene
- Sleep deprivation, defined as less than eight hours per night, is a leading cause of mood disorders
- Regular exercise promotes falling asleep faster and reduces insomnia
What can I expect during an exercise consultation for my mood disorder?
When you come into NY FITPROS to take control of your mood disorder, you can expect a thorough evaluation. The team focuses on figuring out how your mind and body work, in order to find out what they need to optimize your health and wellness. The patient must first undergo an initial consultation that includes a pre-participation screening to determine their mental state and fitness level, including an evaluation of their medical history. This process allows them to provide the appropriate Medical Exercise Training (MET) – and to prevent medically unstable clients from entering the program.
At NY FITPROS, the team does not rely on trial-and-error. Instead, they use the latest methods and tools to thoroughly assess your body's significant functional aspects to determine the right exercise program for you. Their SMART START Assessment will be implemented to establish your baseline fitness level, allowing them to assess your current capacity and exercise capability – what you can or cannot do. Ultimately, the results will show whether you require one-on-one training, buddy training, and small group training sessions. Participants in the medical exercise program are also provided with a heart monitor to use during their workouts.
The SMART START Assessment evaluates:
- Brain Gauge Mental Fitness Assessment
- Postural Analysis
- FIT3D Analyzer
- 11-Point Musculoskeletal Screening
- Cardiopulmonary Fitness
- Push-Pull Strength
- Joint Biomechanics
- Functional Movement Pattern
The Brain Gauge is a cognitive assessment tool that measures brain health by testing sensory perceptions in your fingertips. Though it looks like just a computer mouse, it’s actually so much more. The somatosensory system (sense of touch) is well suited for testing the central nervous system (CNS) because it is organized so that adjacent regions on the skin project to adjacent cortical regions. While medical imaging is a useful tool for identifying whether relatively large areas of the brain are injured, cortical metrics are very good at identifying subtle changes in brain function.
Brain Gauge scores mental acuity in the areas of:
- Speed
- Accuracy
- Timing Perception
- Fatigue
- Temporal Order Judgment
- Focus
- Plasticity
- Connectivity
- Corticalmetric Overall Brain Health
Many individuals with mood disorders report feelings of “brain fog.” Through the Brain Gauge cognitive assessment, the team can quantitatively measure your improvements in overall mental acuity throughout your care program. They can also refer you to an affiliate psychiatrist’s office if you feel that regular therapy sessions would be beneficial in conjunction with your exercise and nutrition programming.
To learn more about how NY FITPROS can help you manage your mood disorder, call the office or book an appointment online today.
