How Do You Get Motivated To Exercise When You Are Depressed?
I asked my TikTok (@thegymstarter) community what they wanted to see on my Blog.
One of the suggestions came from someone who I refer to as:
“My sister from another mister”
I basically grew up with her. We would spend hours together as children playing around, playing dress-up, writing songs, using her video camera to create episodes of Eastenders and make music videos. It was an incredibly fun time, full of honest innocence.
In fact, I don’t think I have one unhappy memory of being looked after by this persons family.
We went to the same school, we went to the same church, and she and her family are as good as my family. We carpooled to school for years and years. Her Mum was a huge inspiration to me with fitness, her Dad with photography.
She had an older sister too. Who is equally a wonderful person.
When we were teenagers we would spend many Friday and Saturday nights out clubbing in Romford together, me trying to make sure they were always ok - I’d drive them both home nearly every week - just to make sure they were safe. I felt loved by them, and we were without doubt as close as close can be.
But with time, we drifted apart. As we grew older and found our voices, found our lives.
And then one day she popped up on my TikTok Feed. And I started seeing videos about much more complex issues around Mental Health and especially Depression. Which made me feel very concerned that someone I loved so much, someone I spent a long time protecting, ratifying whether her Boyfriends passed “The Adam Test” (which was a brutal test that I devised to see whether I thought the bloke was good enough for my sister from another mister), it was hard to see that she had suffered drastically, and it moved me greatly.
She asked me to write this article.
Her exact question was: “Workouts when you’re depressed/neurodivergent”.
To which I had to learn what Neuro Divergent meant, which I now have a grasp on. This also ties in with Mens Health Month, and although I have never been able to grow a Moustache, I think this post is very relevant and I truly hope it helps you.
Firstly, I want to say that you are not alone, you are very very welcome here and if right now you are suffering, and that is what bought you to this article, you are in a safe place. If you need to talk about anything, then please email me on adam@thegymstarter.com - or you can DM me on Instagram - @the_gym_starter
Added to that, we can become friends.
And as your friend, I’ll email you things. Sometimes they will be educational, sometimes they will be inappropriate, sometimes I might just want to know how you are; either way…it would be delightful to connect with you more.
Just send me a friend request by filling out the form below…
Oh, and I will also send you some free fitness goodies to help start our new friendship off on the best foot possible.
Now that we are besties….
I also want to share this with you: I have never had clinical depression, I have never had a diagnosed Mental Health issue, and I am not a Psychologist or Therapist of any kind. That being said, I have definitely had low moods and some very dark moments in my life.
However, the reason I became a Personal Trainer was to help someone who had some Mental Health issues, and I have spent a decade of my life working with people who are clinically depressed and helping them navigate their movement and nutrition as well. I have looked into this topic so many times, and every day I work hard to learn more about it, so that I can help those who are suffering more and more.
This article is a summary of everything I have learnt with working with people who are on medications, are actively suffering and have still managed to work with me - its my blueprint for my Sister from another Mister so that when she gets into a dark place again - she has the framework to help her negotiate everything she wants on what I know best - Movement and Nutrition.
I always say make sure you follow me for empathetic fitness advice with a great smile.
And the only reason I have such a great smile is because of people like you. I see yours, and reflect it back. I hope by seeing mine, you too can see I’m a reflection of you and your smile keeps me inspired every day, even if you can’t see it all of the time.
My greatest memories as a personal trainer are not that of people hitting PBs - its those quiet talks, those moments where I was the only person left for someone to talk to about their issue and how in those moments my clients didn’t have a Personal Trainer - they had a friend.
You’ve got a friend in me. Always and forever. You are not alone. And I will try and help you as much as I can right now.
Table of Contents for: How Do You Get Motivated To Exercise When You Are Depressed? :
Step 1: You are not alone
Step 2: Take away expectation
Step 3: Start small and build from there
Step 4: Acknowledge the wins
Step 5: Have a plan
A note on Neuro-Divergence
Step One: You Are Not Alone
Let us start with some stats [1].
“How common is depression?
More than 264 million people suffer from depression worldwide. (World Health Organization, 2020)
Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world. (World Health Organization, 2020)
Neuropsychiatric disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. with major depressive disorder being the most common. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2013)
Depression statistics in America
17.3 million adults (7.1% of the adult population) have had at least one major depressive episode. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017)
Of those with major depressive episodes, 63.8% of adults and 70.77% of adolescents had severe impairment. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017)
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to have depression. (Centers for Disease Control, 2017)
Major depressive episodes were most prevalent among adults (11.3%) and adolescents (16.9%) reporting two or more races. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017)
Depression statistics by age
Adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old had the highest rate of major depressive episodes (14.4%) followed by young adults 18 to 25 years old (13.8%). (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 2018)
Older adults aged 50 and older had the lowest rate of major depressive episodes (4.5%). (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 2018)
11.5 million adults had a major depressive episode with severe impairment in the past year as of 2018. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 2018)
Severe depression among college students rose from 9.4% to 21.1% from 2013 to 2018. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019)
The rate of moderate to severe depression rose from 23.2% to 41.1% from 2007 to 2018. (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019)”
I know this doesn’t help you feel like you are not alone if you are in an episode of poor Mental Health. But widening out the context of everything we do in life gives us something that is very important: Perspective.
And when it comes to Movement and Motivation perspective is one of the single most effective things you can have to make you feel like you aren’t failing.
We live in a very false world. We live in a world where highlights are everything and only promoting the best of life is what matters - what is valued.
But look at the stats. That isn’t life.
Life is a complex tapestry of emotions and humanity. And tapestries are beautiful. You are woven into the fabric of society, which is what makes our society great. You don’t darken the doorway with your presence, you light it up - you light it up by the sheer fact you are here - living and breathing.
Do you know what the chances are of your existence?
This is mind-blowing. The answer is 1 in 10 to the power of 265,000,000. That’s a 10 with 256 million zeros after it.
The best analogy I found was this: It is the probability of 2 million people coming together, to each roll a dice with a trillion sides on it, and they all get the same number.
The chances of your existence are basically zero. This means you are a miracle. This means we are all miracles together and that’s what makes the world awesome.
Even if we don’t feel like a miracle all of the time - we are. It doesn't change the facts. What does change is our interpretation of the facts.
And what happens when two miracles get together? Magic. Magic is what happens. When you talk to someone, when you process your feelings through discussion and perspective you create magic.
Step 2: Take Away Expectation
In a paper called: “On the Maintenance of Expectations in Major Depression – Investigating a Neglected Phenomenon” [2] which was published in 2017, they propose:
“For major depressive disorder (MDD), there is evidence that people suffering from MDD hold situation-specific dysfunctional expectations which may be elicited by depressive core beliefs (Kube et al., 2016)”
They go on to conclude that;
“The maintenance of expectations despite experiences that are contrary to expectations is believed to be a core feature of MDD”
Huh.
Now that is interesting.
Expecting something, that lived experience doesn’t equate is a “core feature of MDD”.
I see this every day in Fitness. I see the perpetual cycle of people feeling like failures because their lived perception of what fitness is, is so wildly misguided compared to lived reality.
It’s also something I have come to learn over time as a Personal Trainer - and making sure that the first thing I do with new clients on the Strong & Confident Program is quite simply to manage those expectations immediately.
Because I don’t want my clients lived experiences to make them feel like a failure.
I do not mean to trivialise your struggle, by simply stating that your learned expectations are the issue you are facing, and it is as simple as letting go of those expectations. Because those expectations can be very deeply rooted in who you are as a person. Added to that a huge part of your mental health does come down to Chemistry - which has nothing to do with expectation.
But I know I can influence these thoughts through the window of what this article is about: Fitness and Motivation.
What Expectations Should You Remove from your Fitness Journey?
Expectation 1: Thinking it will be the same process as your friends experience
Here comes the quote….
I understand that knowing this is one thing - being able to execute a whole other - and if you ar in the midst of an Mental Health Episode then its even harder.
Aside from making love, fitness is one of the most personal experiences you will probably have. Not only your physical ability and skill, your genetics, but also your emotional resonance with what fitness is in your life.
The number one joy out of fitness is the fact that you get to explore it, the fact that is your personal journey and the fact that you are the only person you should be doing it for.
So as easy as it is for me to say don’t compare yourself to others, the only way in which you can do that is to focus on the self - focus on your productivity, focus on what you are able to do, focus on what you can achieve and focus on what wins you are picking up along the way.
And I’m not talking about Squatting 100kgs.
I’m simply talking about the real world wins each day. The real world wins that can so often elude you at periods of time in your life when you feel this way.
Then you begin to build a foundation. A foundation of strength, a foundation of habit, a foundation of persistence - and it is from that foundation, from the feedback loop of what you are achieving, no matter what it is compared to others, that you can then build other behaviours that you want to see yourself doing.
This foundation is your insulation from these episodes of poorer mental health being more severe the next time they come around.
Expectation 2: Endorphins “being the answer”
Exercise has the ability to make you feel better about yourself.
But it doesn't necessarily mean that it is the only answer.
Exercise improves your sense of well-being, and releases these things known as endorphins, which help alleviate pain in the Brian similar to Morphine.
But you shouldn't put all of your eggs in one basket - despite what Resse Witherspoon thinks.
When I hear something like:
“Exercise makes you happy and releases endorphins and therefore helps with depression”
Although Scientifically I know it to be true, if I was going through a bout of low mood, | would then expect the high of exercise to be so good - because it’s all anyone seems to bang on about all the damn day long.
And that’s not really what happens.
Of course, I believe in the power of movement to help all people - I am an award-winning Online Coach and Personal Trainer.
But I know that what happens after a workout is certainly not as big a high as the marketing would make you believe. It’s subtle, but a very real sense of accomplishment. It’s a little tick in your day that makes you say to yourself - good job - what’s next?
And the more you repeat the cycle, the more good jobs you get done. The more ticks you put in your wins column, the more you build that strong foundation that insulates you from your future self.
Expectation 3: Your definition of a Workout
What is a workout?
Well, I chose to show you, Mike - because who doesn't love Monsters Inc - it is the greatest Disney Pixar film there is.
But also - when searching “workout” on Giphy I saw far too many toxic images of what a workout is - and I didn’t want to perpetuate that stigma.
When you look at the origin of where the word comes from, you have to break it into two sections:
Section 1: Work - As a noun, it is thus [3]:
“Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result”
“A task or tasks to be undertaken”
When I first read this definition I was worried about the words “purpose or result”. As in, it would take you towards thinking about “losing 5kgs” or behaviours that perpetuate negative body image and procrastination towards yourself.
But in truth, a purpose or result can simply be - to move, to walk, to enjoy. A result can be a process-driven result, nay, it should be a process-driven result.
Not a goal-based result.
Section 2: Out - As an adverb, it is thus [4]:
“Moving or appearing to move away from a particular place, especially one that is enclosed or hidden”
Therefore, if you look at a workout as a physical effort to move you away from a place that is enclosed or hidden you can quantify a workout as anything that achieves that.
As in, it doesn’t have to be lifting heavy weights and slaying yourself in a gym packed with mirrors that make you feel even worse about yourself.
It can simply be the physical act of moving from Point A to Point B.
A common dialogue in the conversation about depression is that those who are suffering find it hard enough to even shower, let alone do much else. Well moving from Point A (your bed) to Point B (your shower) can be viewed as a workout.
And when you can reframe it thus, you can begin to build momentum.
You can begin to build those strong foundations I keep discussing with regards to putting ticks in your win column.
Added to this the term workout has only been around 100 years or so. It is also thought that the “out” part of the word comes from the meaning of “outside” [5].
Hence going for a walk…is a workout; It produces a physical effort towards a goal.
That goal being, to go outside.
What I am trying to do here is lower the barrier of entry for you. Help you reframe the mammoth task right now of finding the motivation to exercise. Making the leap from a low mood to a Gym is huge.
Making the leap from a low mood to getting outside for a walk, might be less huge.
And actually going outside has been shown many times over to have huge benefits on mood [6].
Step 3: Start Small And Build From There
Nothing builds confidence more than showing up for yourself regularly and always ticking off the things you want to do.
Talk to anyone who has accomplished anything large in their life, and they will all tell you the same thing:
“It’s the daily habits inside and out that create big effort”
Whether you’re an athlete training for the Olympics, a Dancer stretching, a musician doing their Arpeggio’s or, take it from me, an actor showing up to over 1000 auditions just to get a job.
Make no mistake, insulating yourself, building these big foundations that will support you in the future, these strategies and assurances in your life to help you deal with low mood when it comes around again is a big effort
And therefore, to achieve that you must build slowly and surely.
Breaking a big effort into bite-size chunks is the best way to go - because the bigger the task the more likely you are to procrastinate around it.
I remember when I had to put my Visa Application together for Australia - it turned out to be a 75-page document outlining every fact and figure to prove that I was in a genuine and ongoing relationship to the exclusivity of all others with my fiancee.
And you would think that sounds quite straightforward - but actually proving the fact to someone who has never seen you, spoke to you or knows anything about you other than seeing the 75-page document, to also prove enough evidence so that you aren’t being fraudulent is a very very scary task.
And boy did I put it off.
Not because I didn’t believe it possible - but because of how daunting the whole thing was - and the more I thought trying to get it done quickly the more I delayed taking action.
I had to just focus on it one request at a time.
Put a system and a framework in place - and go from there.
Much like when I ran the London Marathon.
Look at how young I look - even still at 20 miles in.
When I ran that marathon, I had to reverse engineer my journey. I had to look at the final goal - which for me was completing a Marathon - and then figure with about a years notice how to work towards it.
It started with running 5kms, then 10kms, then 15kms, then 20kms…until Race Day.
It wasn’t a linear journey either. Some days when I had to run 15kms I could only do 10km or 5km, I had to appreciate how much energy my body had, and respond in the moment to it, understanding that within the framework of my rather large and overwhelming training plan, I had to appreciate the flexibility I needed within it.
I remember two very distinct occasions within this journey as well.
One was when I was sitting in the bath, battered and beaten physically and emotionally because I tried to run at a pace for a four-hour marathon over a 20km distance, and I just couldn’t do it. I had nothing in me that was strong enough to keep that up - and I was feeling really rubbish about everything. I got on the phone to one of my very good friends and wonderful running coach, James, and ,made me realise that the only person putting me under this pressure to run that goal was me - and the sooner I disassociated with that as a goal, the more enjoyable my training would be.
I never looked back.
And the second time, was in the build-up to the race - I was quite worried about a month away from that I would hurt myself running, and I knew I had put in enough work - maybe not the most, and I certainly could have done a lot more, but I suffered a rough injury in training when I was also refereeing, and I just went into protection mode - and didn’t run in the build-up to the marathon.
I was overwhelmed with the thoughts of how big the task ahead was - so I withdrew.
Even having done the work.
This is perfectly normal - the pre-game nerves, the stage fright, the anxiety this can cause. A rebound of emotions is normal - which is why it is so important to have the feedback of little behaviours that have led you to this moment to support you.
So that, when you get stopped in your tracks with these feelings, you also can look back and say “I have a body of evidence contrary to what my brain is telling me right now” - and no one can take that work away from me.
STEP 4: Acknowledge The Wins
Each week on the Strong and Confident Program I send out a Weekly Report form to my clients.
And it serves two purposes.
To give them a moment to reflect on what has passed, and set themselves up for the week commencing - again focussing them onto the process rather than the goal.
To get them to physically write down and celebrate the wins they have built up over the week.
And when they put something on there that they haven’t mentioned to me before, I get very wound up. Because when the big wins come I expect a text message.
Just like this one from my friend who is three weeks into her journey with me:
Then when they have a moment of self-doubt, provided they have filled in the form each week, we have a body of evidence to show them that they are able to achieve.
I can show them that they have built the foundations.
I can prove to them, that they themselves wrote words contrary to what their thoughts are at the moment, and that this moment will pass, as it always does with time, and they will soon be able to get back to nailing their journey.
Wins are so easily looked over, whereas what are perceived failures are so easily focussed on and so easily fixated on.
This is why, writing down your wins, talking to a Coach about your wins, taking a moment to track your stats, and ticking off your consistency is all really really important.
What you see more of, the brain focuses on more and more. You get a feedback loop akin to what you are being exposed to.
And this feedback loop can be used both positively and negatively.
If all you see are size 10 models with perfect skin due to photoshop on Instagram, it's going to make you think that is normal life, and therefore create an unrealistic expectation of yourself - hence creating a negative feedback loop.
Therefore you need to take every opportunity to make note of your wins. Make note of your achievements and celebrate them.
No matter how small they seem in comparison to anything else.
Your wins are personal to you - it's irrelevant what others are achieving - they are your wins and it’s your journey - that is all that matters.
You can do this in a number of ways but for someone who has a low mood, I think the best way to record your wins would be through journaling.
Journalling has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression.
In this study [7] they took 40 people who were diagnosed with current MDD and asked them to expressively write about their deepest thoughts and feelings for 20mins a day, and four weeks later they showed decreases in depression scores measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and Patient Health Questionnaire.
This study called: “The effect of expressive writing on the error-related negativity among individuals with chronic worry” found results very similar buy using expressive writing to help reduce worry and stress in those who engaged with it.
Writing your feelings down, helps you process them. Writing your wins down helps you acknowledge them.
And once those two things are happening, then the foundations again grow stronger.
STEP 5: Have A Plan
Nothing builds confidence more than showing up for yourself and not letting yourself down.
One way to ensure that is a much more foolproof system is by having a plan to execute, a format to stick to.
By knowing what you are going to do, it will make the execution of what you are going to do a lot easier.
Again, it lowers the barrier of entry to the task - and the lower you can get that barrier, the easier the execution will be.
The plan doesn’t have to be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be for the rest of your life or even the year.
In fact, I would argue the smaller the plan the better.
It can be a plan just for that day.
It can be a plan just for your movement session.
It can be as simple as you need it to be, to avoid overwhelm and procrastination around it.
Write down a few exercises you want to investigate in your movement. Write down how long you want to stay at the Gym for, and make sure you plan yourself accordingly for it.
The objective here is to make sure that it is so easy, its nearly impossible for you to back down.
One plan I like to use with clients is the two-minute rule. Especially when they are struggling. I got the two-minute rule from James Clears amazing book “Atomic Habits”.
Over to James [9]:
“The Two-Minute Rule states “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”
You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version:
“Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.”
“Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my yoga mat.”
“Study for class” becomes “Open my notes.”
“Fold the laundry” becomes “Fold one pair of socks.”
“Run three miles” becomes “Tie my running shoes.”
The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. Anyone can meditate for one minute, read one page, or put one item of clothing away. And, as we have just discussed, this is a powerful strategy because once you’ve started doing the right thing, it is much easier to continue doing it. A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a “gateway habit” that naturally leads you down a more productive path.”
Back to me;
Once you have broken your habit down to a two-minute action, you can build from there. If you have mindfully done a “two-minute rule” you are a lot more likely to execute away from that point. And if you don’t, you still did the action for two minutes.
If you want a plan for the Gym I have two free offerings for you.
Offering 1: 10-minute Workouts:
I have an 8-week system, which I will send to you for free that is a series of 10min workouts. I originally wrote this for very busy mums who just didn’t have the time to workout at a Gym, and needed a no weights home system to just rack up the habit - it was really effective when I launched it.
It’s called The Beginners Bodyweight Workout Guide.
If you would like this free offering then please click here.
Offering 2: The Confident and Strong 4-Week Workout Manual
This is an In-Gym or At-Home solution for a month. Workouts are a little longer than 10 minutes, but to complete the program you just need 4 weeks. Every workout is written for you, and you can interchange the Gym solution or the Home solution depending on your circumstances. It is a complete workout manual that is designed to lower that barrier of entry and show you that movement can be effective in any situation.
Added to that after each workout it has a section where you are asked to give gratitude for the workout, and you can use that as your Journal as well.
If you would like The Confident and Strong Program 4-Week Workout Manual for free then click here
A Note on Neuro-Divergence
I didn’t know what this was until I got the question on TikTok from my sister from another mister.
But the term neurodivergent “refers to the concept that certain developmental disorders are normal variations in the brain. And people who have these features also have certain strengths.
Besides ADHD, neurodiversity commonly refers to people with:
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia
Other learning disabilities” [10]
As I am not a specialist in any aspect of these developmental disorders I can’t comment medically on how best to balance these with fitness and movement.
But I can give you my best opinion on it.
The way I see this is that people who are Neurodivergent have a special natural advantage that they can exploit.
Think of your divergence as a superpower.
And feel free to forget the standards that you hear about fitness because they may very often be antithetical to your divergence.
The fitness industry is still very behind in terms of adapting and making the space a suitable place to exist for people with disabilities. Heck, we are still a long way behind in making it an open space for people who have higher weight bodies.
But we are getting better.
Therefore it comes as no surprise to me, the accessibility to information for those who are Neurodivergent isn’t exactly there.
For example, traits of someone with ADHD are:
being unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings
constantly fidgeting
being unable to concentrate on tasks
excessive physical movement
excessive talking
being unable to wait their turn
acting without thinking
interrupting conversations
little or no sense of danger [11]
Some of these can be leaned into in terms of your movement. If your ADHD presents as constantly fidgeting, then maybe design a workout where you perform Tri-Sets (3 exercises back to back before rest periods) or perform larger circuits than normal to minimise rest periods.
If you find it hard to concentrate, then it might be wise to just aim to go to the Gym for 20 minutes more frequently, rather than try to be there for an hour and you exceed your capacity.
If your ADHD presents as little or no sense of danger, maybe consider going with a friend, and just ask them to keep an eye on you, as you don’t want to injure yourself, or get some sessions with a Personal Trainer so you can safely test your maximums and then know to work within those.
A common trait of people who are Dyslexic is that they can perceive visual information better than those without the condition. Therefore the Gym could be a marvellous place for them to explore their body through space and before each exercise as opposed to focusing on trying to track numbers and read books on working out, it might be a good idea to work towards making your lifts look better visually. Prepare yourself by looking at “optimal form” videos and show progress to yourself by working towards replicating that.
My point is that there are no set rules.
Fitness has guidelines, but the most important guideline is that you work in a manner that you find inspiring for yourself. The more you work against yourself, the harder fitness is full stop. So learn to manipulate fitness to your needs and how you need it to operate in your life.
Use your superpower to your advantage.
Rip up the rule book.
In the same we amend certain movement patterns to peoples ability so that they can get the most out of what they are doing, you also have the power to amend fitness to suit you.
Make your movement something that works for you, in your life, in your way.
That's all any of us ever do - and is the ultimate goal no matter who you are.
Did You Find This Useful?
Firstly I want to say a huge thank you for reading my article. If you are currently in a low mood or depression and are looking to use exercise as a way of helping you manage it, then I can tell you from my experience of working with people in this manner, physical movement is a phenomenal way of processing your emotions physically - in the same way Journalling is a great way of processing your emotions mentally.
I hope this has helped you feel like the bar can be lowered, so that you can see yourself being able to move and using it as a tool to manage your Mental Health in the future.
And of course, if you need to talk to anyone about your mental health then please see your Doctor or call one of the many many many fantastic charities in your country that can help you.
Across this website, I have other Articles all about managing your mental health through movement:
I would also love to invite you to grab some free fitness goodies from me, including a free month of coaching on The Strong and Confident Program
You also have a unique opportunity to grab some fitness goodies from me as a thank you for reading this article…to find out how…read more below:
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References:
SingleCare Team | Updated on Jan. 21, Team, S.C. & Team, S.C., 2021. Statistics about depression in the U.S. The Checkup. Available at: https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/depression-statistics/ [Accessed November 21, 2021].
Kube T, Rief W, Glombiewski JA. On the Maintenance of Expectations in Major Depression - Investigating a Neglected Phenomenon. Front Psychol. 2017;8:9. Published 2017 Jan 18. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00009
OED Definition of “Work”
OED Definition of “Out”
Anon, Workout word origin. Etymologeek. Available at: https://etymologeek.com/eng/workout [Accessed November 22, 2021].
Anon, 16/10/2016 green is good for you. Available at: http://www.unature.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Green-is-good-for-you.pdf [Accessed November 12, 2021].
Krpan, K.M. et al., 2013. An everyday activity as a treatment for depression: The benefits of expressive writing for people diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032713004448 [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Schroder, H.S., Moran, T.P. & Moser, J.S., 2017. The effect of expressive writing on the error‐related negativity among individuals with chronic worry. Wiley Online Library. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/psyp.12990 [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Anon, 2020. How to stop procrastinating by using the "2-Minute Rule". James Clear. Available at: https://jamesclear.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Wiginton, K., What is neurodiversity? WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/features/what-is-neurodiversity [Accessed November 24, 2021].
Anon, NHS choices. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/ [Accessed November 24, 2021].