This is part 1 of a three-part series on exercise and mental health. Part 2 looks at what the research says, and part 3 at what an exercise physiologist can do.

Do you have concerns with any of the below? These avenues are available to support you and your health. You deserve it, you are wanted, you are loved, and we’re here to help.

General mental health, mental ill-health or mental illness: Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au

Disordered eating or eating disorders: Butterfly National Helpline 1800 33 4673 or butterfly.org.au

Suicidal thoughts: Lifeline 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000.

October is Mental Health Month in Australia, and I’d like to talk about it. In fact, I feel we need to talk about it more than ever.

Mental health and mental ill-health are complex, multifactorial, and more than anything, individualised and person-specific. While many people may experience the same mental illness, their personal causes and psychosocial reasonings may never be the same, and may never be experienced in the same way.

How one person experiences depression for example, and their subsequent choice of treatment, could be completely different to the next person. And as we know, it is not uncommon for treatment of mental health conditions to be started with pharmacological and/or psychological interventions, without a broader review that considers lifestyle factors.

I’d like to raise the question: do we feel, relative to modern day treatment opportunities, that pharmacological treatment and psychotherapy are enough for those with mental health conditions as a whole?

And more broadly speaking, are the current management strategies of mental health conditions consistently 1) preventing more conditions from occurring, 2) preventing someone’s systemic health from becoming any worse, or 3) the most economically cost-effective for mental healthcare consumers, and for our healthcare system?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community” (World Health Organization, 2026).

Mental health spans across a continuum, from being mentally healthy or ‘fit’ to mentally ill. We can ebb and flow among the differing characteristics from varying categories on the daily. This continuum details varying biopsychosocial factors that influence mental wellness vs mental illness, but please note it is not an exhaustive list.

On the right end of the continuum, we see traits commonly seen in those experiencing mental illness. Australia’s National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008 defined mental illness as ‘a clinically diagnosable disorder that significantly interferes with an individual’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities’ (as cited in Senate Select Committee on Mental Health, 2006).

What I am pleased to advise is that research is progressively and repeatedly demonstrating that exercise is a viable and clinically meaningful strategy of managing or improving mental health, mental illness and severe mental illness (Firth et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2023). Could this in fact be the most ideal combination: physical therapy, pharmacology, psychology?

If you take medicine for your mental health, keep taking it as prescribed. Talk to your GP before you change anything.

Here’s what we know:

Regarding physical health of people living with mental illness (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2026):

• People living with mental illness are more likely to experience poorer physical health than the general population
• People living with mental illness, and in particular severe mental illness (SMI), are more likely to experience comorbidity of physical conditions, more likely to be hospitalised for potentially preventable reasons, and tend to die earlier than the general population
• There are an estimated 1.7 million Australians aged 16 to 85 experiencing both a mental illness and a long-term physical health condition
• Almost 80% of premature deaths of people with mental illness are due to potentially preventable physical health conditions
• In 2014-15, among people aged 18 years and over with co-existing mental and behavioural and physical health conditions, almost three-quarters (72.8%) reported no or low levels of exercise
• People with co-existing mental and behavioural and physical health conditions were more likely to be overweight or obese (65.2%), compared with people with one mental and behavioural condition only (46.8%).

Read part 2: what the research says about exercise for depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

If you would like support to move more for your mental health, reach out. One of our exercise physiologists can work with you, alongside your GP and any other care you have. Get in touch with our team.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015). National Health Survey: Mental health and co-existing physical health conditions, Australia, 2014-15 (Cat. No. 4329.0.00.004). https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4329.0.00.004Main%20Features22014%20-%2015

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2026). Physical health of people with mental illness. https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/health-wellbeing/physical-health

Department of National Defence. (2025). The mental health continuum model (MHCM). Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/benefits-military/health-support/road-to-mental-readiness/mental-health-continuum-model.html

Firth, J., Cotter, J., Elliott, R., French, P., & Yung, A. R. (2015). A systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise interventions in schizophrenia patients. Psychological Medicine, 45(7), 1343–1361. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714003110

Senate Select Committee on Mental Health. (2006). A national approach to mental health: From crisis to community. First report (Appendix 1). Parliament of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Former_Committees/mentalhealth/report/e01

Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., Watson, A., Szeto, K., O’Connor, E., Ferguson, T., Eglitis, E., Miatke, A., Simpson, C. E., & Maher, C. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: An overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1203–1209. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195

World Health Organization. (2026, September 11). Mental health [Fact sheet]. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response