Chris Powell also went through a difficult chapter in his life, which made him realize the importance of not only staying physically fit, but mentally fit as well.
PHOENIX — For the past 20 years, fitness expert Chris Powell has helped countless people transform their lives and get them through some of the most challenging times of their lives.
But Powell himself also experienced a difficult chapter in his life, which made him realize how important it is not only to stay physically fit, but also mentally fit.
Powell started over when his life took a turn for the worse. “It started around 2015 and went into 2019, and I mean well into the pandemic. But it was actually in 2019 that I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder. And it was both anxiety and depression. And at that point that was the point where i was referred to a psychiatrist…to deal with the anxiety and the depression but through the process i learned some other really powerful tools to help my mental health and deal with the stress the anxiety and, to bring myself much more present in the here and now,” Powell said.
Powell was divorced and it was a struggle to be in the public eye while trying to protect his children. “Everything felt so empty and hopeless; that would be the best word to describe hopeless. And I couldn’t see a way out,” he recalls.
But with the help of drugs and various mental health techniques, he overcame his depression. “I was all about, you know, diet, exercise. That was my physical stuff. 20 years. And it was like, Oh, this is the answer, but it wasn’t. It didn’t help me. And it wasn’t until then I started learning mindfulness, meditation, breathing, acts of kindness and gratitude, these were the different things the therapists taught me. I started using those,” Powell said.
Now Powell wants to share some of those techniques with you.
Here are three tips for a healthy mind.
Talk to someone
Practice gratitude
Learn to breathe
The second breathing technique is called a “physiologic sigh.” He explains, “So what you do is you take two deep breaths through your nose, you go, I think you exhale almost completely with the sigh and this is one I use at night especially sometimes when I can’t quiet my mind. I will use the physiological spot at night. And I use box breathing during the day to handle stressful situations.”
Powell said being mentally fit is like being physically fit, it’s an ongoing process. He explains that you can’t go to the gym and suddenly get fit. We both need to practice every day to stay strong from the inside out.