5 - (SYM 121) Exercise for the Transdiagnostic Goal of Enhancing Psychological Resilience

This presentation provides a strong fit with the ABCT Convention Theme of Cultivating Joy With CBT.  Psychological resilience refers to the ability to recover (“bounce back”) from stress and adversity, and is associated greater wellbeing as well as lower levels of anxiety, depression, and general distress. Studies indicate that regular exercise protects against negative emotional responses to stress, protects against physiologic stress reactivity (e.g., cortisol and heart rate reactivity), and protects against burnout from stressful school or work environments. Further, the COVID pandemic provided a natural context for evaluating resilience to the many emotional stressors associated with the pandemic, prominently including threats of Illness, disability, and death to oneself and loved ones; loss of work and social connections during lockdown periods; and loss of role functioning. A host of studies indicated that exercise offered important protective effects relative to these stressors, with exercise showing links to higher well-being and lower symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress during the first year of the COVID pandemic. This presentation will provide a review of these empirical findings and discuss exercise interventions for resilience as a transdiagnostic strategy for improving wellbeing and reducing distress, and will consider stages of CBT (including relapse prevention efforts) that provide a natural transition point for assigning exercise interventions for resilience.