Depressed? How can you motivate yourself to climb out of the darkness?
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007Many of you already know that throughout my life I have struggled with anxiety and depression. And that I have been on and off meds more than I would like to admit. The good news is, I’m at the happiest point of my life, without the aid of medication.
Which brings us to the subject of this post, when depressed how can you motivate yourself to climb out of the darkness?
I’m no shrink, but I know how I did it, so maybe others can find some help in my story. Once off the meds I could tell I was heading to a mental place I didn’t like very much (one that I have visited far to many times). I was so physically out of shape that no matter what exercise program I started, visable results were way down the road. In fact even small improvments seemed out of reach, hell they seemed impossible!
So instead of focusing on something so far off, I picked something I could gage easily from the start. Did I jump right into the workouts you see me doing today? Hell no! All I did was grab two 25 pound dumbbells and a flat bench and gave it a go. (Interesting side note, Sara already had them for herself). The frist time I think I only did two sets of 5, but it gave me a starting goal to try and surpass. So two days later I went for 3 sets, doing more then I did my last time really made me feel better about myself. Even if my whole day felt dark and empty, I was able to tell myself that at least I did my lifting.
As the weeks passed I added more and more exercises, with more and more goals. Until I was doing a full upper body 5 X 5 plan (added legs down the road). Once I realized that the goals were what was pulling me to the light, I knew I was on to something. I knew I had to make my program push me to higher and higher numbers! As my routine evolved I wasn’t even focused on body changes, but the day they came their was no turning back. I was becoming the person I always wanted to be! The little negative voice in my head stopped being so negative, and I started to believe that I could be happy without pharmaceuticals.
Everyone feel free to ask any questions you have, here or send me a private message. I’m at a point where I can be open about my history, and I would love to help others.
Small discalmer: Don’t stop taking you medication without a doctors consent. How can you get off anti-depressants if your doctor does not agree you are ready (but you think you are)? My suggestion would be to find other doctor. Remember just because you feel alone, does not mean you are. Start small, and try to improve just a little each day, you could very well surprise yourself (I know I did).
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