Jog On

“When it felt like my world had collapsed and I couldn't control anything, it turned out that a simple run was the first step to piecing it all back together.”

1. Anxiety is more than just worry – it can dominate your entire life.

Anxiety is often misunderstood as merely overthinking or excessive concern, yet Bella Mackie's story reveals how serious its grip can be. From an early age, anxiety shaped her worldview, making even mundane things seem terrifying. It wasn't about avoiding stress but about battling a constant, all-consuming fear.

Bella’s anxiety manifested physically through chest pain, stomach aches, and repetitive behaviors. She resorted to actions like pulling out her hair (a condition called trichotillomania) to manage overwhelming feelings. These behaviors weren’t quirks but desperate attempts to cope with her inner turmoil.

Over time, her anxiety led to isolation. As an adult, Bella avoided elevators, airplanes, and even walking through grocery stores. Her world became smaller, boxed in by the places and activities she thought she could survive without an anxiety attack.

Examples

• Bella experienced disassociation, making colors seem exaggerated and people feel like actors in a fake world.
• She developed compulsions like switching off lights in a certain way to prevent disasters in her mind.
• Panic attacks left her feeling breathless and convinced she might die without any immediate danger around.

2. Anxiety disorders affect both the mind and body.

Living with anxiety is not purely a mental struggle; it changes how the body responds to the world. Bella discovered this firsthand, even as people dismissed her experiences with well-meant remarks like, "I get it – I’m a worrier too!" Anxiety disorders are illnesses, profoundly different from regular stress.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), for example, stems from intrusive thoughts. Bella talked about spending hours turning off lights “the right way” to protect her mom’s life – a false but deeply ingrained belief. Similarly, panic disorders hijack the body’s response system, creating intense, unnecessary fear by mimicking the sensations of immediate danger.

Anxiety rewires the body, keeping sufferers in fight-or-flight mode unnecessarily. For Bella, this sometimes led to shaking, breathlessness, or a racing heart during benign moments, like shopping in her local market.

Examples

• Bella used compulsions like flicking light switches to combat anxious intrusive thoughts.
• Her panic attacks replicated symptoms of heart attacks, causing dread and confusion in public spaces.
• Anxiety trapped her in physical effects, such as exhaustion from constant emotional vigilance.

3. The smallest steps forward can unlock change.

After years of struggling, Bella’s turning point began with a small act. Much of her recovery stemmed not from grand gestures, but from lacing up her shoes and jogging a painfully short route near her home. It was the first, shaky move in reclaiming her life.

Bella didn’t start as a runner, nor did she feel confident about trying. She picked an empty alley near her house to avoid people and only ran for three minutes. That short moment was monumental – not because she became instantly better, but because her mind quieted for the first time in years.

By making jogging a regular habit, Bella began expanding her boundaries. From running in a secluded alley, she grew bold enough to jog near crowded markets and through unfamiliar streets. Each step outdoors allowed her to slowly reject the restrictions anxiety had imposed.

Examples

• Bella’s first run only lasted three minutes but stopped her tears for fifteen minutes afterward.
• Over a few weeks, she built courage to run beyond the comfort of her hidden alleyway.
• Jogging through once-avoided locations helped her confront the physical spaces where fear had ruled.

4. Exercise changes how the mind processes stress.

Bella’s improvements weren’t purely emotional – they were physiological, too. Exercise works by balancing hormone levels and teaching the brain to handle stress differently. For someone like Bella, it marked a powerful shift in her mental health.

Cortisol, the stress hormone, shifts our fight-or-flight response. Research shows that physical activity lowers cortisol in the bloodstream, leaving people less tense afterward. For Bella, jogging helped her reinterpret feelings of a racing heart and breathlessness. What once triggered panic now became signs of her body working hard in a healthy way.

On a neurological level, regular running helps create new pathways in the brain. Mice studies, for example, reveal that exercise can bolster emotional resilience by building connections in areas responsible for stress management.

Examples

• Bella began associating rapid heartbeats with fitness and effort, not impending doom.
• Studies show lower cortisol levels after workouts – particularly after cardio activities like running.
• Results from mice exposed to stressful environments prove exercise helps the brain adapt to challenges.

5. Nature amplifies the restorative effects of exercise.

While jogging offers psychological relief, Bella found that being surrounded by nature made the activity even more powerful. Escaping urban stressors and focusing on the calm of natural settings rewired her thinking.

Research backs this up. Stanford researchers discovered that walking in nature – versus urban areas – reduces negative thoughts. Brain scans revealed decreased activity in portions of the brain associated with ruminating on sadness when participants stayed outdoors.

Bella personally experienced this when she ran along the Irish coastline after losing a close friend. With waves crashing near her and views of mountains, her thoughts of grief temporarily quieted. Being "small but connected" in the grand space of nature brought her peace.

Examples

• Stanford studies show that nature walkers spend less time fixating on negative thoughts.
• Bella experienced connection with her surroundings while running after a friend’s death.
• Even photos of natural sceneries were shown to help runners feel self-assured during exercise.

6. Social norms can create barriers to fitness.

Despite its many benefits, exercise remains under-practiced by much of the population. Not everyone has equal access or feels confident enough to start. Bella saw this gap firsthand when discussing exercise with peers from various backgrounds.

For women especially, societal messaging creates unease about sports. Many girls grow up feeling self-conscious in physical education classes. As women, this leads to intimidation around gyms or public workout spaces. Ethnic minority women face added obstacles, such as concerns around discrimination in exercise groups.

Bella emphasized that while jogging can be for everyone, making it widely accessible often means addressing larger, systemic barriers. Encouraging diversity in sports and fostering inclusive policies can support this.

Examples

• Studies show 26% of UK adults exercise less than 30 minutes weekly.
• Cosmopolitan magazine found that many women feel judged or insecure about working out in gyms.
• South Asian women report worries about racism in group fitness settings.

7. Jogging transforms both moods and habits.

What began as a small step turned into a life-changing practice. Six years after her first jog, Bella now runs daily – not for an event or competition, but purely for mental clarity and joy.

Running gave Bella a toolkit to face emotions and stress without spiraling. She celebrated building self-discipline and creating a practice that felt like hers. By turning exercise into one consistent part of her life, other areas, like self-confidence and relationships, began to strengthen as well.

Anyone, she argues, can experience this transformation. The hardest part is showing up for the first run.

Examples

• Bella stopped having panic attacks entirely after sticking with her new routine.
• Jogging helped Bella overcome heartbreak, self-doubt, and years of fear.
• A young mother like Sara, featured in Bella’s story, overcame postpartum depression by jogging.

8. Confidence comes from facing what scares you.

Bella’s progression wasn’t about frequent trips to a therapist or taking shortcuts. It was about gently challenging herself repeatedly. Running helped her confront crowded sights and public spaces she had avoided before.

This unexpected courage bled into other parts of Bella’s life. From going through busy markets to traveling more freely, the momentum she gained from exercise dissolved some barriers created by fear.

For those debating whether to start, Bella suggests focusing on consistent, small acts of bravery. These repeated steps begin to chip away at insecurity.

Examples

• Bella no longer needed to avoid crowded transit routes after consistently running.
• Self-esteem recovered as she embraced challenges like new and unexplored streets.
• By running daily, Bella felt more in control of her days and decisions.

9. Small beginnings lead to massive recovery.

Healing doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it follow a straight line. Bella believes the key lies in taking small, steady steps. Every run was a personal victory, marking progress in her journey away from anxiety.

Anyone can start with a manageable routine to reintroduce wellness. It isn’t about distance or speed but learning to move forward one step at a time — and celebrating that.

Bella invites readers to view progress not as perfection but as commitment to care for themselves in simple, achievable ways.

Examples

• Bella started with just three minutes before her runs blossomed into longer sessions.
• Sara, another runner, learned to enjoy jogging even in small, icy, wintertime moments.
• Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathon runner, began in his eighties and thrived.

Takeaways

1. Begin with manageable goals like a five-minute jog, and don’t pressure yourself to be perfect.
2. Run in quiet, natural settings when possible, or recreate nature visually if in busy areas.
3. Keep consistency front and center – regular practice will outlast occasional bursts of effort.