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While physical activity is considered an important part of treatment for people with schizophrenia, little is known about their views on how to successfully commit to an exercise habit over time. This study explored experiences of motivators to start and maintain regular exercise among people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Five men and six women with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, 25–62 years old, who had been exercising for at least 6 months, were interviewed using a semi-structured guide. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The positive experiences that the participants immediately felt in their bodies were the main motivator for exercise. These experiences were recalled and longed for in between bouts and consisted of physical sensations, mental well-being, and improved self-esteem. This experience-based driving force enabled the participants to pursue exercise despite sometimes feeling low, lacking resources, or struggling with side effects of medication. The positive change in body experience following exercise could be emphasised more when promoting exercise to people with schizophrenia. Exploring the instant body responses can keep up the drive and create hope for more long-term health effects. Physiotherapists have an important role in guiding patients to recognise and interpret body experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most people with common mental disorders are working despite symptoms. This study explores individuals' experiences of a work-directed rehabilitation, provided by occupational therapists and physiotherapists, aiming to promote work capacity in persons with common mental disorders. A qualitative content analysis was used, and 11 women and 8 men with depression or anxiety disorder were interviewed. They were 25–66 years old, had different occupations and were working full or part-time. The participants experienced a process interpreted as Increasing belief in one's capacity through supported reflection and practice. This theme reflects the shifting between "reflecting" and "doing" through rehabilitation and the growing hope for change. The increasing belief in one's capacity was developed through three stages, comprised of the categories To be supported by a professional, To realise things about oneself and To try new strategies for change. Strategies suggested by occupational therapists and physiotherapists have the potential to promote work capacity in people who are working while depressed and anxious. The results may deepen the understanding among rehabilitation professionals about the importance of a person-centred approach to people with common mental disorders, and to combine reflection and practical exercises to support the development of work-related strategies. Work-directed rehabilitation provided by occupational therapists and/or physiotherapists is beneficial to people with common mental disorders. Rehabilitation professionals should focus on facilitating self-efficacy among people with common mental disorders. An individualised person-centred approach seems important in order to initiate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Although the effectiveness of physical exercise for depression has been studied for many years, few studies have described patients' experiences of what exercise means to them, beyond the biological focus. Moreover, exercise as a treatment for depression is rarely explored in a physical therapy context. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to explore a physical therapy exercise intervention, as experienced by people with major depression. Design. This study had an inductive approach and used qualitative content analysis. Methods. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 people who participated in physical therapist-guided aerobic exercise in a randomized controlled trial. All participants were diagnosed with major depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Data were collected and analyzed in an inductive manner using qualitative content analysis according to Graneheim and Lundman. Results. Pour categories emerged: (1) struggling toward a healthy self, (2) challenging the resistance, (3) feeling alive but not euphoric, and (4) needing someone to be there for you. The participants experienced that although the exercise intervention was hard work, it enhanced the feeling of being alive and made them feel that they were doing something good for themselves. These feelings were a welcome contrast to the numbness and stagnation they experienced during depression. Limitations. The study was conducted in Swedish primary care. Transferability of results must be viewed in relation to context. Conclusions. Exercise in a physical therapy context can improve the patients' perception of their physical ability and create a sense of liveliness, improving their depressed state. The therapeutic relationship is essential for supporting the patient's vulnerability and ambiguity in an empathic and perceptive way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generalized anxiety is characterized by long-term psychological and physiological discomfort. Pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have been extensively examined, whereas knowledge is scant regarding other professional perspectives. This article focuses on the physiotherapeutic perspective on anxiety, exploring physiotherapists' perceptions of their treatment for patients with generalized anxiety. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 physiotherapists working in psychiatry or primary health care. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis, resulting in one main category and five subcategories. The main category 'To sense and make sense of one's anxiety' reflects the idea that physiotherapy works through immediate, tangible bodily experiences to help a person understand and handle his or her anxiety better. Five subcategories reflected different aspects of this main category: (1) the body is the arena of anxiety, (2) to get in touch with oneself, (3) to get down-to-earth with oneself, (4) to make sense of bodily sensations, and (5) to gain trust in one's capability to handle anxiety. In conclusion, the gradual bodily awareness of sensations, to sense and make sense of anxiety in physiotherapy treatment, becomes an opportunity to find ways to withstand and to manage symptoms of anxiety, encouraging an embodied self-trust. The emphasis on the immediately lived body involves the potential to learn how to endure anxiety instead of running away from it, to discern and to understand different sensations, leading to an integration of anxiety as being part of oneself rather than overflowing oneself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]