I know many people just go to the pool, no matter what, they don't give themselves a choice, but I've succumbed to bad case of blues. Swimming always has been my salvation for depression, but now I am finding it very hard to get out of the house to get to the pool.
I know "inertia begets inertia" (I read that once); thus I just gotta get myself to the pool. Anyone out there have any ways they trick their minds/bodies when it feels like the world is made of cement? Drugs aren't the answer for me; been there, done them. Swimming really has been an incredible help. I have swim goals: I'm not accomplishing them due to the incredible pull of my cozy bed and evening "house" clothes.
Hi, Isobel. I suspect many, many of us out here in swimming land have -- and in some cases currently are -- in your shoes, or perhaps zoomers. My own mood problems tend towards agitation and anxiety along with depression, so getting to the pool has not been a problem. I get so restless it is hard NOT to keep moving around, hoping to bludgeon my mood into exhaustion. It sounds like you might have the other morph--low energy, desire to withdraw, aversion to movement, almost a form of hibernation setting in.
I guess my recommendations would be to swim with a team if you are not already doing so, as your fellow teammates can be powerfully reinforcing and helpful; tell yourself you don't have to do any more yards than your comfortable doing, or go any faster than is soothing, that you are in self-comforting mode for the time being; spend as much time as you want in the hot tub, sauna, or any other fun area of the swimming center you go to, assuming they have one; and don't miss the opporunity to go out with your teammates for a beer or whatever (though drinking heavily is a mistake in this state of mind.)
Sometimes just kind of sharing your mood with teammates can be relieving. I remember when--in a fairly deep depression myself--I found out that the nicest guy on our team, and fastest swimmer by far (a former 23 time all american div. 2) had suffered from serious Seasonal Affective Disorder for decades. It was really helpful to talk to him about my own travails, and definitely did a lot to eliminate the stigma that's hard to shed.
I wish you luck. Just tell yourself you're going to go and swim the warm up, say hi to some swimmers, take a shower, and go home. You might end up staying longer, but the key is to just get back into the habit. This episode will pass, they always do. And even though they seem interminable at the time, the truth is your life is almost certainly much more non-depressed than depressed. Think of it as an emotional cold--obnoxious, yes, annoying, to be sure. But eventually it goes away.
Hi, Isobel. I suspect many, many of us out here in swimming land have -- and in some cases currently are -- in your shoes, or perhaps zoomers. My own mood problems tend towards agitation and anxiety along with depression, so getting to the pool has not been a problem. I get so restless it is hard NOT to keep moving around, hoping to bludgeon my mood into exhaustion. It sounds like you might have the other morph--low energy, desire to withdraw, aversion to movement, almost a form of hibernation setting in.
I guess my recommendations would be to swim with a team if you are not already doing so, as your fellow teammates can be powerfully reinforcing and helpful; tell yourself you don't have to do any more yards than your comfortable doing, or go any faster than is soothing, that you are in self-comforting mode for the time being; spend as much time as you want in the hot tub, sauna, or any other fun area of the swimming center you go to, assuming they have one; and don't miss the opporunity to go out with your teammates for a beer or whatever (though drinking heavily is a mistake in this state of mind.)
Sometimes just kind of sharing your mood with teammates can be relieving. I remember when--in a fairly deep depression myself--I found out that the nicest guy on our team, and fastest swimmer by far (a former 23 time all american div. 2) had suffered from serious Seasonal Affective Disorder for decades. It was really helpful to talk to him about my own travails, and definitely did a lot to eliminate the stigma that's hard to shed.
I wish you luck. Just tell yourself you're going to go and swim the warm up, say hi to some swimmers, take a shower, and go home. You might end up staying longer, but the key is to just get back into the habit. This episode will pass, they always do. And even though they seem interminable at the time, the truth is your life is almost certainly much more non-depressed than depressed. Think of it as an emotional cold--obnoxious, yes, annoying, to be sure. But eventually it goes away.
