Hello all,
I have been to this forum many times over the years to see what is working for other people with depression and to let myself know that I am not the only person in the world struggling with this illness..
I have found uplifting stories here and coping techniques that were very valuable. Ive never really felt that I had much to contribute so Ive never posted.
Depression has been a life long struggle for me since childhood, I am now 34. Ive taken medications and still take them. They definitely helped with the suicidal thoughts, but the internal sadness, loneliness, and unnecessary anger, etc.. just wouldn’t go away..
To make a long story short, Ive tried every thing from illegal drugs, sad to say, to natural herbs and a healthy diet.. Eating a good diet was the best thing Ive found and smaller portions, bigger meals cause too much blood and energy working on digestive system instead of the brain and muscles..
BUT, even eating better I sill had all of my negative feelings and was still some what anti-social just not quite as bad.. So, with my meds and a better diet I was able to keep a job and gain a few friends though these still required hard work to act normal in front of them..
So, still looking for help and Google’ing help for depression as I have over the years - I always came across another way to beat depression that just seemed too hard and didn’t make any sense for beating depression so I never tried. Well, I decided to give it a try and it was the best thing I ever could have done. I have been nearly depression free for just over a year.
What is it?? Running.. I never tried it because I was always so tired and my head was always in a funk (I have tried weight lifting and enjoyed it as a hobby and the benefits of the strength and muscle gains but it didn’t do much for my mind).. So when I would read about the benefits of running I would just think “yah right, I can barely make it out of my front door and walk to my car”.. At my wits end and out of ideas for beating this demon I decided to give it a shot. I started out slowly, walking more then running. Now more then a year into running I run 5 days a week from 2.5 to 4.5 miles each time. Ive lost weight, and my energy is just crazy.. I can keep up with my kids, I clean the house early and quickly, and I laugh and look forward to my days.. Basically I feel great.. The depression still nags me sometimes but not very much. My mind is now thinking about how to improve my job performance. How to make my kids happier and to what to do to prepare them the best I can for their adulthood, etc…
I highly recommend running as you can tell.. Most every one I am close to has commented on how much happier I seem to be – and I am..
Check it out for yourself online. Google depression and running for the science and psychology behind it. And then check out a running site for a beginners program if you want to make the leap.
Any way thanks for reading. I was thinking earlier about how I used to feel on a constant basis and some of the things I would do, like coming here for support. Then I thought thank goodness I wont have to go there any more. Then I thought, well that’s not right, now I should post my story in hopes that I may help others here and any one else that wants to know my story.
Talk to you all later :o)