Walking off stress

Today's suggested topic from the Ultimate Blogging Challenge is:

 What is a subject or activity you have a lot of knowledge around? If you were giving your one best tip to someone brand new to that subject or activity, what would you tell them? What do you wish you'd known when you were new to the subject or activity?

Life can be challenging at times. Family relationships are not always good. This is something that is hard for so many of us. We don't know how to handle it because we can choose our friends, but we don't choose family. We could have dramatic personality clashes with those who are supposed to be closest to us. When you have dramatic personality clashes with friends, you can break off the relationship. If it is a long-term friendship, it is more difficult, but it is very do-able. With family, that's a different story. It is very difficult to simply break off the relationship.

I didn't know how to handle the stresses of unhealthy family relationships. I turned the pain inward and became depressed. One day, my sister, who saw that I was showing signs of depression, gave me some advice that changed my life.

"Go for a walk. Walking is good for you. It will release endorphins," she said.

I went out for a walk, and I walked and walked and walked... and did that frequently... and felt much better and happier about my life.

According to the Prevention.com website, in an article by Meghan Rabbitt, walking has the following benefits:

• it improves mood, in the same way as a glass of wine or a square of dark chocolate, but without the calories. For me, it's better than wine because wine puts me to sleep almost immediately. My going to sleep mode (silly time, then sleepy time) is sped up so rapidly that it seems comical to any observer. In the winter, when I tend to have seasonal affective disorder, a walk is healthy because it exposes me to natural sunlight, even on a cloudy day. The article on Prevention.com quotes Melinda Jampolis, M.D., who says, "Research shows that regular walking actually modifies your nervous system so much that you'll experience a decrease in anger and hostility." 
• People who walk are more creative than people who don't.
• Your clothes will be looser, even if you don't lose any weight.
• You will cut your risk of chronic disease. I think that this is very true. I had a doctor's appointment a few weeks before the election. Because I was totally disgusted by an election that I deemed to be toxic and candidates whom I felt were dysfunctional, I was sure that my blood pressure had skyrocketed and that I would be on ten medications! Not good because I am fairly bad at swallowing pills! I walked three miles to my doctor's office.  My blood pressure was actually low! He said that I was very healthy because I walk long distances.
• Your legs will look fabulous. Well, of course! 

And there's more! Take a look at the article. To read the full article, take a look at the link below:

link to article on benefits of walking 30 minutes a day