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.
I think just getting in the habit of getting up and exercise and sticking with it is key.
Like others mentioned, I get all my stuff ready the night before (down to assembling my lunch and snacks in one area of the fridge). My alarm goes off, I get up, and go.
This past summer I switched things up a bit, running 2 mornings during the week. Rather than get my schedule out of whack, I simply woke up at the same time. I have to think now when I get up, do I put on my running outfit or my swimming one (it could look odd if I run in just a swimsuit).
I also started to do some pre-exercises and stretching before I leave home. Just some light stretching mixed together with pushups, crunches, etc. Not that it has been cool outside yet here, but if/when it is, it helps get my body a little warmed up, and I'm more in the mood to really get in a workout, regardless of what I'll be doing.
Come January, I do sometimes get similar feelings. It is a combination of lack of sunlight, after Christmas, and cold. But I try to just keep going...and always feel GREAT after I do get in a workout.
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.
What has worked for me in the past are these:
1) Reason it out. Try to present yourself with both scenarios (going/not going) logically. Imagine out the course of the evening with the pool trip and without the pool trip. If I can identify that the ONLY thing keeping me from going is lethargic feelings, then I just make the decision to go. Obviously you have to be honest with yourself and not allow "rationalization" to creep in. Once you make this a routine, it can be powerful because it allows to start having respect for your ability to not believe your own BS.
2) Until you are strong enough to do #1, another thing that worked for me was to "warm up" before even leaving. I find that just being active prior to your decision time will make it much more likely to go to the pool. Ie: you wake up feeling lethargic, you know that when the afternoon rolls around you will probalby still feel lethargic, so at least 2 hours before your workout time, do some house chore like folding laundry, doing dishes etc. Something about just being active and doing something that you will complete will give you the resolve and energy to make the right decision regarding leaving to the pool.
Anyways, not all these things work for everyone, these are just some of the things that work for me. Keep in mind that the brain loves to establish pathways and once established they are re-used more frequently (ie: routine). So if you can figure out a "trigger" that works for you and then reinforce that trigger, it will make it a lot easier for you.
i find that sometimes, having goals makes it harder because i feel so much pressure that i'd rather not go. if that happens, just stop thinking about it and just tell yourself to get to the pool--that is the only goal.
I don't know how long you've felt this way, but if it's recent, give yourself a set time to mope, like a week or two. At the end of that time force yourself to get back up and go.
We tend to push ourselves too hard and sometimes we get tired.
Isobel, I hope it helps, at least a little, to realize you are not alone. sbchick4, you might try asking the lifeguards at the pool if there are any other lap swimmers (at different times of the day) who might be interested in swimming a workout with you. who knows? you could maybe start a small masters team, and pretty soon you'd have some pretty grateful fellow swimmers to hang out with.
Good luck to everyone out there with mood vicissitudes! And Isobel, let us know how goes your quest to get to the pool. Maybe post here once a week and let us know how many practices you made, duration optional!
I think if you have some goals, even very modest ones, it might encourage you to keep swimming. For example, I haven't done any meets or postal swims this year, but I have continued to participate in Go The Distance. That's kept me going to the pool when in years past I might have stayed away for extended periods of time.
Another thing that might help: a swimming buddy. Do you know someone who generally swims at approximately the same time(s) as you? Maybe you can be swim buddies, encouraging each other to get to the pool. It is harder to skip out on practice if your friend is outside in her car waiting to drive to practice.
Skip
Ugh, I feel the same way as isobel. So far my swimming hasn't really be affected, but I fear it will be soon. All I really do is work (excessively,) sleep (excessively) and swim. I recognize that my sleeping is a sign of depression. I have been diagnosed with depression and have been seeing someone, although am not currently on meds. Last night was a real struggle to get to the pool.
I started swimming again because I moved to a new (small) town where I don't know anyone, and lately I don't really care if I get to know anyone. I thought swimming would help me meet people, but it seems like I'm the only one ever there swimming laps and I'm just a pain in the lifeguards butt because they don't get to go home early. I guess that's if they even show up in the first place.
I set goals, and I'm highly competative so I really want to acheive them. But yesterday's swim was just horrible, I couldn't get into any type of rythym and I was so slow for the first half it was embarassing. Needless to say I'm not too motivated to go back right now, and the darn county board scheduled a meeting during my swim time this evening that I have to cover. It's a convenient excuse.
Maybe it is SAD, as the depression has increased 10-fold, since the snow fences went up at the beaches - that means winter is just around the corner. Any other suggestions to stay motivated? a team and swim buddies arent' really options for me. (My town has a myspace-like social networking site that I even tried posting on to see if anyone would want to swim laps with me...no takers)
OK. This is the third time I've tried to thank people and each time I get bumped off somehow.
Made it to the pool today. Did whole workout. Got to the pool by going waaaaaaay early and doing drills and somersaults and slow-motion flip turns and various easy swimming tasks until practice began.
Thanks, thanks, thanks for all your support and strategies.
But most important thing is I now have lots of encouraging posts to read to help me get to the pool.
So again, thank you all. It is good to know I'm not alone.
Just out of curiosity, what latitude are you at? We are past the summer solstice now, and the light is dying--the further north you go, the more this effect is exaggerated. My friend with SAD lived in Minnesota, and it seemed his blues would often start around this time of the year, and improve in the spring. I wonder if George's greater enthusiasm for swimming in Mexico as opposed to Canada might have something to do with the winter light in these respective locales...
They do make full spectrum light bulbs that could conceivably help. I agree with Mr. Aquageek on the usefulness of seeing a doctor, though not all doctors are created equal in this regard.
When you're depressed, and least motivated to do anything, that's when you need to summon your inner reserves and make yourself do it. I really do think swimming not only restokes these inner reserves but teaches us that we have them. Think about it: how many sports are there where, even when we are in the absolute best and happiest mental state conceivable, we need to summon endurance in the face of pain? If you can race a 1650 free, a 200 fly, or even a hard 100 of any stroke, you know how to handle pain!
Babbling a bit here, I know, but as much as you can, I suggest viewing this temporary episode in your life as an endurance event that you have the wherewithal to finish with miminal whimpering. Just as with swimming a hard race, concentrate on your stroke and pace and anything else that can help distract you from the pain per se--and let you reach the finish line with quickness and grace!
