[monkeybruv]

Obviously when you're depressed you don't want to do stuff, especially not exercise. But they never stop telling you how good it is for depression. Well, not for me. I tried the 5x5 program, weightlifting 3x a week, but it was just another commitment to feel bad about not being able to keep up with. I tried running but would nearly always end up in tears and even more depressed for days after (probably low blood sugar - cardio has never agreed with me).

However, since feeling a little better I've been able to experiment with a few things. I've decided that I'm not going to force myself to do anything that makes me feel that bad as I'll just end up not doing it and feeling worse!

What I've discovered is that if I do 30 mins of light exercise of something a bit more 'fun' (for me that's dancing, pointe work, hula hooping, bellydancing) and then listen to a visualisation audio ( I like this one

and others on their channel), I am actually able to feel good after exercise!

I haven't been great at keeping this up lately but I'll try to get back to it soon as I know it helps (even though the prospect of doing it is ...bleuuurgh). Just thought I'd share this with you guys as a practical tip which has really worked for me on several occasions so far. If you only manage to do one thing in a day, I'd tell you to make it this as I personally feel i get a lot back from the effort I put in (whereas I don't usually get anything out of anything I do).

[kaliope]

thanks for sharing.....

[RunningInTheRain]

That's a great thing to try! Thanks. I hope it works well for you!

[littlemiss44]

That is very uplifting...I'm glad you found a way to feel good. Yr post gives me motivation to take baby steps into trying to start to exercise! Thank you

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

I'm glad you found something that helps you occasionally. My T keeps telling me to exercise as often as I can during the day. Problem is, exercise has not helped my depression in the least so I have no incentive to even try. I'm glad it works for some people though.

[monkeybruv]

I know everyone's different but I felt really excited to share this with everyone, and I hope it works as well for at least some of you as it does for me! newgal2, maybe just try 10 mins before? baby steps are the key. And I think the visualisation meditation is really what makes the difference - I usually start feeling pretty crappy towards the end of the exercise but if I start the visualisation straight away it interrupts the negative thoughts and feelings and gets me back on track to feeling better.

Originally Posted by monkeybruv

I know everyone's different but I felt really excited to share this with everyone, and I hope it works as well for at least some of you as it does for me! newgal2, maybe just try 10 mins before? baby steps are the key. And I think the visualisation meditation is really what makes the difference - I usually start feeling pretty crappy towards the end of the exercise but if I start the visualisation straight away it interrupts the negative thoughts and feelings and gets me back on track to feeling better.

Sorry to be such a downer here on what is an encouraging thread. I do appreciate the suggestion monkeybruv. I actually took the dogs for a fairly brisk, 20-minute walk this morning. Unfortunately, it did not alleviate my depression at all. It just seem that no matter what I do lately, the severe depression persists.

[monkeybruv]

Originally Posted by newgal2

Sorry to be such a downer here on what is an encouraging thread. I do appreciate the suggestion monkeybruv. I actually took the dogs for a fairly brisk, 20-minute walk this morning. Unfortunately, it did not alleviate my depression at all. It just seem that no matter what I do lately, the severe depression persists.

You're not a downer, severe depression is persistent by nature. I reckon you should give the visualisation a try though, as exercise alone has never helped me either :P

[Pierro]

Monkeybruv, Yes indeed you have found the secret to exercise: Do something that you like doing. Then it doesnt feel like a chore. For me its walking. Thanks for your story very inspiring.