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I love these threads.
Good on you for going. You won't regret it.
You'll also probably be surprised how many BJJ guys suffer from various anxiety/depression disorders and just how much it can help.
Just the other day I was chatting to a guy who'd just come back from a 6 week break from BJJ, and what a difference he noticed. The day after his first day back he said he felt like he was on drugs. Just felt so good, and was almost literally buzzing with good feels and excitement. I always feel the same thing. When I can't grapple, I get fucking CRANKY. I recently had about 6 weeks off too and after my first class back, my partner specifically noted the difference. She immediately noticed how much "lighter" I seemed.
Learning how to fight is cool. The other benefits of BJJ are way, way cooler, IMO.
This is so true... I have anxiety and depression and have always medicated it with physical activity. Used to be running, but BJJ feels even more effective because it's so cathartic to just FIGHT SOMEONE. It forces me to be really present and aware. I think a lot of people in our society are anxious not because we're "broken" but because we are designed to suffer more physical stress than we do in our day-to-day lives. Without the release of physically escaping a predator or something, we just hold it in and make ourselves sick. BJJ is a great proxy outlet.
Plus, I've heard that activities that demand /concentration/ actually defuse anxiety and racing thoughts the best, and grappling definitely does that too.