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Old Apr 23, 2018, 06:04 PM
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CepheidVariable CepheidVariable is offline
Stardust
 
Member Since: Jun 2017
Location: rural Canada
Posts: 2,075
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaysey View Post
Thanks for this. I’ve never been one that likes exercise. It definitely does feel like a chore. I’m in a place where I don’t really enjoy anything, so finding something I like to do is really hard.
Ah, good old anhedonia.

As I mentioned, I was desperate enough to try anything at the time. Obviously I don't recommend that as a planned strategy.

Sometimes lowering expectations helps with combating overwhelm and discouragement. I needed to do something. So I tried things and did the most of not what I enjoyed (wasn't happening), but what was the least unenjoyable. It felt better over time because depression messes with your head -- even when you know it's doing it.

I also tried some light meditation around the same time to try and get better at being with things I didn't necessarily enjoy. One saying I liked and found helpful was "Thinking about it is much harder than doing it." I still use that one sometimes when washing dishes. It's easy to fall into the habit of standing there thinking "I'm going to hate this. I hate this. I'm still hating this. Isn't this over yet? 'Cause -- guess what? I hate this." It's so much better to just start and just do it without the added unhelpful commentary.

Also, like FallDuskTrain said, a higher intensity might help if you're just not feeling it physically. Worth a try.

Well, enough rambling. Hopefully there's a helpful suggestion in here somewhere.

Good luck!
Hugs from:
Anonymous44144, Kaysey
Thanks for this!
FallDuskTrain, Kaysey