If you would classify someone as healthy, what are the factors you would consider? Body Composition, how far they can run, how much weight they could lift? What about their mental state? This gets overlooked simply because, most times, you cannot see it. People are better at masking these problems and playing off that everything is fine. I know this because I have struggled with Depression which also affects an estimated 350 million people.
When I was 10 years old, I was clinically diagnosed with depression. Now, for people who don’t suffer from this mental illness, Depression may seem like you just have some “off” days now and then or a simple imbalance of chemicals in the brain. This is true but, there is a little more to it. Depression doesn’t come and go. It is a persistent feeling of sadness and constantly effects mood, energy levels and self-esteem. The worst part is that these symptoms drive a cycle that is constantly feeding itself. For me, my depression lead to massive weight gain, insecurities on my abilities to complete tasks, and an overall feeling of a life of hopelessness.
Now, while it is difficult, Depression is very treatable. Over the years I have developed a few strategies to help fight my battles that I know will help you too.
Take a deep breath:
This is as cliché as it gets but, it’s true. When things are starting to spiral down and your head feels like its screaming, stop, take a long inhale through your noses and exhale through your mouth. Rinse, wash, repeat. I guarantee your situation will not be as bad as it was 10 seconds ago. At The Spot Athletics, we start off all of our session with belly breathing as it teaches you to control your heartbeat and emotions.
Exercise:
This is the number 1 proven cure for depression and was the best thing I could have done. According to the National Institute of Health, there was a direct correlation between depression and physical work capacity. They found the more physical activity a person could handle the less depression-like symptoms that person experienced. For the people who had lower physical work capacities, an 8-week aerobic based exercises program was prescribed. After the 8 weeks, there was an 80% decrease in their depression-like symptoms.
When I first started to work out, I was bad at it. I was weak, couldn’t run far and could only do 5 sit-ups but, I kept going. In the beginning, I hated doing it. I wanted to quit more times than I can count but I kept going and soon, those 5 sit-ups turned to 6, then 7.
I soon developed a passion for training and improving myself. In 10 months I had lost 100lbs and was doing sets of 300 reps. I literally reinvented myself through a consistent effort toward a single goal. My improved self-image also helped fix some of my other problems that my Depression was causing thus fixing the negative cycle that was. Most importantly, this taught me that I am in charge of my actions and I can control the outcome of my life.
Get out and do something:
Staying in bed and watching Netflix isn’t going to fix anything. You cannot be passive if you want to cure your depression. Find something that interests you and go do it and most importantly find a friend to do it with. This will give you accountability and, hopefully, ensure you won’t bail.
Some ideas are:
Hiking
Joining a cooking class
Rec League Sports
Join a Gym…or Private Training Facility
Join a band
Go Volunteer
Start a book club
Take a walk through town
A great resource to explore new interests is an app called Meetup. It tells you about local groups who are planning events in the area are mostly open invites. And if you don’t like what you see, create your own!
Using these steps, I have found a new sense of joy in my life. I have been training now for over 10 years and my symptoms seem to have disappeared. Without doing these steps I never would have been in a position to coach people and share my experiences with others. I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try some these steps, you may be surprised where they take you.
I have listed some other websites that can provide further information depression and how to treat it.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-treatment.htm
https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/depression/treatment