I recently began working out pretty regularly. I love it. Working out makes my day so much better... Except.. When it doesn't. Just recently I was very, very depressed for a few days. I skipped a few of my workout classes and moped a lot. One day, though, I decided to drag my butt out of bed and go to my workout class despite being very depressed.
Doing this, I expected my body to kind of, snap out of it. Even if just for an hour. However, that didn't happen at all.
During my workout, I felt disappointed in myself. I couldn't get myself to push myself the way I normally do. Typically, I push myself. Hard. I get through the warmup and when we start the official workout, I don't give up. I push not just to finish it but to excel doing it. I normally want to push myself and I normally want to do better every day. This day, though, I just wanted the hour to be over. I couldn't bear to keep working out. I just wanted it to be done so I could go home and just sleep again.
In addition to this, my mind felt so confused. Working out exhilarates me. It gets my mood up and makes me happy! Normally working out makes me so unbelievably happy. I love just seeing what my body can accomplish. And there was a little bit of joy and excitement while I worked out. For the most part, though, the depression was still there. It was still deeply there, and that was confusing.
After the workout, I felt worse. I felt so much worse. I was disappointed in myself and frustrated that I hadn't done more. I was upset that I wasn't doing as well as I normally do. For me, working out when I was depressed was an awful idea.
I know that doctors frequently advise people to workout to deal with depression. For me, it was the worst idea possible. It made things so much worse. I tried to make things better and instead it was worse. Doctors usually do know what they're talking about, but I've spoken to other people who also couldn't workout or do any of what doctors recommend to do to deal with depression.
The point of this article is to make you all realize that sometimes, you just need time off. You can't always push yourself, especially when you're depressed. Doctors can recommend things, but everyone is different. Everyone needs different things to help themselves deal with their depression. I suggest not forcing yourself to do something you don't feel up to doing just because a doctor has recommended. Everyone needs different things. Push yourself to try to get yourself better, but never push too hard. It will make you feel worse in the end.
