Yes, in various ways.

One part is immediate. When I'm nervous or keep worrying about something, going for a run almost certainly resets my flow of thoughts. It also burns off most of the tension, at least I have a much easier time relaxing after a workout.

The other part is more long-term. Despite many, many years of running, it merely helped keep my weight in check rather than give me a dream body, but it seems to have changed my thinking a bit -- not like some motivation guru's story where someone forces themselves through hardship to develop a warrior mentality stuff, though. It's more like becoming aware, long after the change happened, that, woah, I may have skills now.

As in, there is no mental talk-back or willpower needed for me to run up a steep mountain trail in my area, the gist is more: no question that I can do it, it will be cool to experience it again. For a long time, I wasn't even aware that it's not always been that way. It also doesn't seem to rub off on other areas of life like one would hope, but just having proof in myself that I may have built up to something is a small confidence booster.

Cycling outdoors.

Just yesterday I rode over 20km in strong wind and snow squalls, yet I still had a massive smile on my face.

No other physical activity makes me this happy. Hiking is close, but I have too many body pains to enjoy it these days.

As a bonus, I don't even have to plan exercise when on my bike. Even if I only use it for errands, I'd be on it several days a week.

Yes. Just being in better shape helped my confidence a lot. I went sort of all-in on getting into shape and worked out fairly religiously for a while. It SUCKED at first but once it became routine it got a lot easier. I did all sorts of exercise, weights, cardio, etc…. One side benefit is that I didn’t get sick (a cold or anything!) the entire time I was working out like crazy. My life circumstances changed a couple years ago making that much time a practical impossibility, but even a few years on, I’m still down a bunch of weight which helps!

Nope. It made it worse if anything. It takes up so much of my time and exhausts me so much both physically and mentally, that I have to give up too much in order to accommodate it. Plus being ND, I can't form habits, so it requires the same amount of energy and talking myself into doing it every time. And I don't know when to stop, so I always overdo it, because I'm always "past my limits" so when someone says to "push just past your limits", I push until I literally can't move my muscles anymore. I have tons of willpower so there's no boundary except complete physical collapse for me.

I definitely feel better overall when I ride my bike regularly. My mood is better, I have more energy, and I sleep better. I got into it around the time I separated from my ex-wife, and I think it's a significant part of what kept me from falling into a serious depression when I got divorced.

I hate running. I hate swimming. I hate lifting weights, or anything in a gym. Hiking is nice, with the right company. But I enjoy biking around my neighborhood and along the city greenways. I was wanting to be more active, healthier, etc. but couldn't find anything I actually would stick with until I found an activity I actually enjoyed. Lately I've been feeling pretty down, getting uncomfortably close to a major depressive episode, but riding my bike for a while always makes me feel a bit better, at least while I'm doing it. I think not biking, due to it being winter, is indirectly part of why I've been down - I just haven't been doing much that is enjoyable while dealing with a lot of stress including some major life changes.

Fwiw, I'm a psychiatric nurse. I've read the science news articles that say exercise is better than anything and the ones that say it doesn't do much. I've also read some of the actual research/journal articles. The reality is that we're not really certain how much difference it actually makes, but it probably depends on a variety of factors that vary from person to person and based on the type of exercise. We do know that people who are physically healthier also tend to feel better mentally. What I have seen personally, and experienced myself, is that exercise helps with mood, but it's not a cure-all, and it's not instant, and it makes a difference if it's something you enjoy doing independently of it's health benefits. Exercising outdoors, particularly in green spaces, probably also helps.

Yes.

Yeah I feel better exercising. Makes me feel tired at first but better mentally. Probably because the brain gets a break when exercising and also because the body creates endorphins.

No. Nothing helped but time. I think most people here were not actually with major depression or anxiety like I was

Any kind of physical activity is good for mental health, especially for people with PTSD.

Yes and no.

When I was in my early 40s I lost over 100 pounds. Overall, yes my mental health was greatly improved.

Unfortunately, my perspective changed and at some point I realized that I'd reverted to behaviors that I hadn't exhibited since the last time I was fit (late 20s). I started being more judgemental of people who are overweight, and I even started wondering if I could do better than my wife. Awful stuff. I came really close to making some terrible mistakes.

YMMV, but for me it was dangerous territory. Thankfully everything worked out ok, but I'm fortunate that my wife is both patient and forgiving.

Well, my lack of exercise has definitely helped make my mental health worse. My anxiety brings "inability to act" or "action paralysis" (not sure what the correct term is in English). Been on sick leave for over 10 years now and I'm stuck at home 95% of the time. I've tried so many times in so many ways to get exercise but as soon as I have any inkling of anxiety, which is the vast majority of the time, my body just shuts down and I'm unable to do anything but just be in the spot I'm in at that moment.

Improving my mental health helped me start exercising, actually. But also now I think staying committed to it generally assists in keeping me mentally well. There are tons of things I do that are somehow easier for me to execute in the context of of training instead of just for their own sake (for whatever reason), such as getting consistent sleep and cutting back on drinking.

For me, definitely. I will have to mention that my exercise comes from a hobby, hand tool woodworking, and that exercise in the gym hasn't helped.

It's definitely a fantastic feeling to pour all of your effort into a task and see the fruits of your labour. It feels really good to work with extreme determination, nearly passing out several times and finally seeing the finished project. Then immediately zonking out.

It also helped me a lot because working out to exhaustion makes my sleep a lot more consistent, which for a long time was a major factor in my depression.

For me, gym exercise wasn't very helpful because (to me) it felt arbitrary. Lift this thing X times, do this motion X times, etc. When it's a hobby there's a clear start, beginning and end goal, and it's much more satisfying in my opinion.

Yes. It can be very very effective.

I started swimming while I was in the depth of depression (induced by external factors) and yes it did help manage the depression, but didnt solve it. What solved it was leaving my alcoholic ex and getting control back over my life.

I have continued swimming and I also do a lot of cycling as well as some hiking/tramping and the ocassional bit of mountain climbing, and they do help with managing stress and mental health but they are no longer the primary reason I do them. The health benefits I get from exercise are mostly physical but those benefits also play into making me feel better about life too.

Yes, immensely so.

But its not the whole puzzle.

I still have to add a routine of meditation as well as social interactions.

For me, the quality of life with-vs-without those things truly is immeasurable.

It's hard to decide any causation for me personally, but my fitness tends to at least correlate positively with my mental health.

ETA: Mostly try to find something you enjoy, not something that feels like a chore. Also, diet and fit culture are like poison so I would advice to find true compassionate professionals to help you out in your search.

Yes in my case BUT I had to find the right exercise for me as well as the best time of day to do it.

I now do it everyday and have done so for 17+ years. Sometimes I pepper some different stuff here and there, but nothing crazy. Also, food. The correct meals for me have made all the difference in the world in how I feel. This also includes some extra minerals that my body needs.

If I'm not pushing myself, yes. Walking for example is good for people mentally. Running has the opposite effect.

Yes.

I am one of those weirdos who feel like they were run over a car last night every time they wake up.

That is, unless I had either a cardio activity or a strength training exercise session in the last two days.

This is a huge case of, "Yes, but . . . ."

Yes, exercise absolutely can and does help mental health. It helps me a great deal. That said, exercise requires some level of time, energy, and focus. The key is to find a form of exercise that you enjoy or at least do not mind. If going to the gym is exclusively a chore, you will more likely fail. If exercising brings some ~~Internet~~ inherent reward, you will more likely succeed.

I love lifting weights, but I did not have the mental energy to put together a program or figure out how to work around big physical issues after cancer. I paid a trainer to help, and that eliminated enough of the focus needed that going to the gym became fun. Now I am transferring to running my own program because I have learned enough that it is not as big of a mental load. Along the way my energy has also increased.

Contrast this with running. I hate running. It hurts my joints. It hurts my lungs. Getting outside and running should be easier than a trip to the gym, but it is actually much harder for me because there is no inherent reward. It just sucks, and it continues to suck as I get better at it.

So yeah, exercise is great for mental health, even if it is not a cure all. This only holds true once you find something you enjoy. If you think you enjoy nothing, you are most likely wrong. Keep looking. Keep trying. Maybe you like walking. Maybe you like a specific martial art. Maybe you like biking, but only on a stationary bike in your living room while binging your favorite shows.

Find something that you enjoy doing that fits well enough into your life. That way on the days you don't want to start, you will anyway because you know it will be enjoyable once you are doing it.

When I'm feeling blue about something for a while, I do try to exercise daily. I don't know whether or not endorphins make a difference for me but I do not that I feel more awake after exercising. I like the feeling that I accomplished something for that day and it keeps my routine regular. The alternative that I can spend a lot of time thinking about something troubling me and I'm not productive.

Walking while concentrating on what i feel in different parts of my body helps me in high stress situations, and longer walks once in a while when I'm not completely stressed out helps clear my mind. swimming in thermal water also helps keep my overall stress level down when I've got enough capacity left to actually do it.

so yeah, the right exercise customised to my actual capacity to do exercise helps a lot - but i have to allow myself to just stop doing it without beating myself up if I'm not up to it.