The one thing Turia Pitt wants everyone to do for their mental health

‘Anyone can do it’

There isn’t an Aussie who isn’t familiar with – and entirely inspired by – Turia Pitt’s story. Here’s why Pitt is such a passionate advocate for using exercise to boost your mental well-being.

Everyone knows that exercise and mental health go hand in hand. If your own first-hand experience of using movement to calm, distract or reset your emotions won’t convince you of its power, the countless clinical studies touting the benefits of exercise likely will. 

But, in addition to the rush of endorphins any good run delivers, new research from Anytime Fitness also recognises the social aspect of exercise and sport is a key factor in helping people manage their mental health. 

According to the study, half of all Aussies use exercise as a coping mechanism when struggling with their mental health, with 91 per cent revealing they’d be more likely to open up about their problems with a workout buddy.

For athlete and motivational speaker Turia Pitt, getting outdoors and moving her body has always been her go-to approach to periods of stress or melancholy. Far less daunting (and expensive!) than other forms of therapy, Pitt says running alongside friends or family has always been her favourite way to carve out me-time. 

“I know if I am shitty, tired, stressed, irritated, and just down in general, if I go for a run, if I make that little bit of effort, if I get outdoors, if I go for a walk, if I remove my body, I'll always finish feeling like just better about myself, better about my life, better about my circumstances,” she says. 

It’s why she’s joined forces with Anytime Fitness and R U OK? to raise awareness (and money) for suicide prevention. 

Appearing on the Tread Mates podcast alongside other high-profile Aussies, Pitt opens up about her own mental health setbacks, and how she used movement and a strong support crew to pull herself through. 

“I feel like when you go exercise and you've got all of these endorphins going through your body, all your barriers are down. I feel like you probably can connect with people a little bit easier,” she tells Body+Soul. 

“Also, direct eye contact can be really confronting for people,” adds the runner. “It might feel easier to be walking with a mate.”

“I know that for me, it does feel easier to share those sides of you when you are moving or when you are exercising as opposed to sitting down at the table. It feels less formal, I guess.”

As Pitt points says, when addressing our mental health struggles and finding time for general self-care, setting realistic goals is key. 

“If we have these expectations of ourselves that, ‘Tomorrow I'm going to do a two hour run that I'm only going to drink grape juice and I got to breathe activated oxygen and I'm going to do all of these amazing things,’ you might do that for one day, but it's very, very hard to follow through with that every single day.”

Tread as One with Turia Pitt this Saturday

To support people’s pursuit of physical and mental wellness, Pitt has one simple message for any Aussie tuning into her podcast episode; Get outdoors, get together with mates, and get moving. 

“One of the reasons I started my program is because people would say, ‘I'm not a runner because I don't look like a runner,” she says. “If it's not your jam, it's not your jam – I get it. But I think maybe the reason why people feel like running isn't for them is probably to start with the stuff that we see on social media.”

“My philosophy on running is that pretty much anyone can run. It doesn't matter what size you are, what colour you are, what age you are – you can run.”

This Saturday, 12th October, Pitt – alongside Aussies all over the country – will be taking part in the Tread as One challenge to raise money for suicide prevention charity, R U OK?

To set your own running, walking or rolling challenge and raise important funds to help suicide prevention, visit treadasone.com.au to join in and donate.

Originally published as The one thing Turia Pitt wants everyone to do for their mental health