For many, the struggle is real with depression and the desire to be healthy and workout. How do you balance the two? This is something I am still working on. I have borderline personality disorder and bipolar. For about a year now I’ve been doing well. However, one of my therapists just told me she was leaving the clinic for another area of the VA. This was a bomb. I don’t do well when I have to change providers, let alone a therapist. It takes me months to open up to someone and if the vibe isn’t there, therapy is useless.
Because of this news, I haven’t trained in 3 days. I turned to alcohol for a couple days as my only coping method. I know this isn’t productive but I’m still trying to process the news. So, how do we move past it?
We start by just doing. My diet thankfully has stayed healthy as I don’t have junk food in my house, so that was a win. I need to put the alcohol down. I know when I drink I don’t feel like working out the next day. So we start by spreading out when we drink. If we can’t do that, we drink LESS than the day before.
Movement of any kind will help. Whether it’s a walk, a run, pacing your house. Just get up and move. Tomorrow my plan is to set my alarms for 7am. Get up, drink the pre workout and MOVE. Monday I have to work, and can’t allow this news to affect my daily routine. Whether I like it or not, she is leaving and I will have a new therapist in a few weeks. Unfortunately the uncertainty of not knowing who will take over it what bothers me a lot. Can I trust this person? Will they have as much compassion as my last therapist? This all remains to be seen. Until then, I can only do what I know how to do:
Walk the dogs. Get outside. Maintain a healthy diet. Lift weights.
Do you struggle with depression and the desire to be healthy? what works for you? let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!