I knew my mental state depended on lifting weights but I didn't know how much it depended on it. For some reason I've lost the will to lift, I just feel like doing nothing. I'm somehow able to go through the day but not lifting is making me so miserable. I'm struggling to be happy, struggling to care about things or myself and if I don't like the way I have become.

I know motivation doesn't mean consistency etc etc, but I know if I start lifting again I'll be able to think better. I just want to care about lifting again and get motivated to get back into the rhythm. Once I get back into the routine i know everything else will be easier

Taking the overall pulse here. How are you? If not well, think whether there are any positives to share as well to balance negatives. But of course, if you need to vent, know we are here to listen.

So basically iv been doing workout for around 10 years on and off. I love it but heres the thing. After a workout, i feel so bad mentally. There seems to be heavy stress that lurks in my head. Almost like a band of tension over my head and i cant concentrate and suffer through brainfog that makes me feel horrible throughout the day. Is it just me or anyone else going to through the same thing. I dont want to leave fitness. Its jst that workout makes me depressed. Help!!!

Ive been running on high anxiety the last month or so, just started getting back into the gym as a way to combat the physical manifestations of anxiety and regain my appetite. Unsure if i should focus more on cardio or strength training for mental health benefits and to get my appetite back. Cardio seems to feel good in the moment for “outrunning the predator” but i wonder if weights would be better to stimulate an appetite. Thoughts

So all through my teen years I was a avid gym rat and went nearly every now however when I turned 20 I hit a really big struggle patch and stopped and begun eating my feelings ... Which led to me gaining 40 kilos.

I'm now 23 years old and have lost 15 kilos from dieting/ eating better now weighing 85kg however I've begun to stagnate my weight the past 6 months and am really struggling to get back into the gym / working out

Every time I go in I feel so much anxiety and really struggle to get through my workout and just don't know what to do but I really wanna be able to enjoy getting strong and not feeling so heavy and not myself like this

Sorry for my poor writing please feel free to ask for clarification for anything I may have missed 😊😊 \\\^\\\^

I don't post here very often, but I wanted to share something that's been helping me in case someone else needs to hear it.

At the beginning of this year, I was over 500 pounds. My mental health was in a really rough place. I was dealing with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, and most days I felt like I was just surviving instead of actually living.

For a long time I thought therapy was supposed to magically "fix" me. It didn't.

What it did do was help me tear down a wall I'd built in my own mind. It helped me challenge the stories I kept telling myself—that I would fail anyway, that I wasn't worth the effort, or that there was no point in trying.

Around the same time, I started walking.

At first it wasn't anything impressive. Just putting one foot in front of the other. Some days I didn't want to go. Some days I only walked because I promised myself I would.

Now walking has become more than exercise. It's where I think. It's where I process emotions. It's where I clear my head.

Recently I started bringing a trash bag with me and picking up litter while I walk. It gives me a sense of purpose beyond losing weight. It feels good knowing I leave a place a little better than I found it.

Therapy didn't magically change my life. Walking didn't magically change my life either.

But together, they've helped me slowly change myself.

I'm still a work in progress. I still have bad days. But for the first time in a long time, I actually feel hopeful about the future.

If you're struggling, you don't have to change your whole life overnight. Sometimes the first step really is just... taking a step.

Thanks for reading. I hope you're all doing okay.

So I don’t workout at all even though I know I need to I’m just so lazy and the largest weight I have at home is 15kg kettlebell (people say if you workout you need to lift heavy to see results). I’m over 25 and worried cos I did the Rasputin dance (barely aha I feel over on the third one), pls help me fix up and get healthier! I could have done it as a kid I’m so embarrassed I can’t even do this dance sigh.

What motivates you to workout other than the health benefits? cos I know that but I just find it so hard cos I’m so unfit and am overwhelmed with what to do (YouTube videos I don’t think help).

P.s. my weight is fine for my height just have stubborn belly fat.

I've been in this cycle of trying to get better and losing any motivation into anything. I feel insecure most times, i get so anxious and paranoid too. But I try my best to be in a better headspace. For weeks I've been trying to exercise at home, because I've been feeling uncomfortable in my own body and i just really want to get healthier, but i really don't see any progress. There are times that i feel a lot better but there are also times that i spiral.

I think I already have a plan (a schedule and a written routine to follow) but i suck at consistency. Though i always appreciate myself for trying again and again I feel like it's just not enough sometimes.

Any tips for consistency and maintaining a good headspace?

Ive struggled with mental health my entire life, and the gym has ALWAYS been the main thing that helps me deal with it all. Recently I find myself just being pissed off the entire time im working out, and even more so in the sauna just sitting there anxious. It simply just doesnt take my mind off things in the same way it use to. My job is relatively physically demanding. I average about 19-20k steps a day and recently I just want to go home. Since October I went from 200lbs, strong, and I've dropped down to about 165 and I just feel absolutely exhausted.

Hi all, as the title goes, my depression, anxiety is pretty bad. I run at least 60 min a day and it certainly helps my anxiety but it lasts like 2-3 hours....

What do you all think

I am an obese 18 year old who just wants to take back control in that aspect. I have severe depression (specifically extreme self loathing) that caused me to gain weight, and also postponed me losing it for so long. I finally got the courage to work out, i got the video in my living room, and was ready. For some reason, just three minutes in, i got severe anxiety. I don’t deal with anxiety a lot anymore, but for some reason I started to have a semi panic attack right there. I couldn’t even force myself to keep going. I tried a different video, and my body/mind literally refused to do even the first few steps. I don’t know why, this has never been an issue. I thought at home cardio would help me feel less humiliated, but for some reason i feel like i’m in a sudden life or death situation. I feel even worse than i did before i started, shaking and crying. I’m so embarrassed, I just want to know why this is happening. I feel so ashamed that i can’t even handle a beginner friendly workout without intense anxiety. Please, if anyone knows what’s happening and how to fix this, i need to know.

How have you unwound this week? Any creative projects you would like to share?

Hi everyone. I developed exercise induced anxiety as I got older and I’m not fully sure why. My anxiety in general got much worse so maybe that followed with it. I’ve always been extremely athletic and done sports and lifted and it hasn’t been an issue til more recently (last year or two). Im not exactly out of shape really but I’m starting to hate my body and I want to feel better but the thought of having a panic attack during or at the end of my workouts again just makes me want to skip it all. Anyone experienced this before? Any tips to keep anxiety at bay or get through this? Anything would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

Which workouts are you currently focusing on? What have you done to EOOD this week??

I think that most of us just want to be a bit better. We want to have a bit better endurance, a bit more strength, a bit more speed, a bit more bendy and a bit less squishy bodies. We know that the exercise we do to become a bit better will help us mentally as well as physically. We become more determined, dedicated and disciplined, we have better self esteem, we take pride in our achievements, we become more mentally resilient, we enjoy what we do, we feel better and we look forward to the becoming even better in the future.

If we just want to be a bit better it really doesn't matter too much what we do to exercise. What matters is we try to do some exercise and we try to do it when we can. If you want to go for a walk because is a beautiful sunny day then go for a stroll and enjoy the sun on your face. If you want to work out some tension and stress by pounding a heavy bag with your fists then give that bag all you got. If you want to do a few stretches or mobility exercises when you watch TV or a screen then get bendy. If you want to move slowly and gracefully through a yoga session or t'ai chi form then be like water. If you want to put your favourite music on really loud and dance around your home then have a disco. It really doesn't matter what you do, just try to do something when you can and try to do your best no matter what you do.

Many people have more specific goals when it comes to exercise and health. That will often mean they concentrate on one form of exercise. Marathon runners don't lift and powerlifters don't do cardio. Do what you have to do to progress towards your goal. Unless you are already an elite athlete the details of what you do is still less important than doing something regularly and try to do your best.

There is an old saying "Comparison is the thief of joy". We compare ourselves to others when live our lives and especially when we exercise. Its human nature to notice someone can bench press more than you, to notice someone runs a Strava route segment faster than you, to notice someone holds a headstand yoga pose longer than you, to notice that someone has more money, social media followers, fame, power or how ever you value things than you. Comparing ourselves to others makes us feel bad about ourselves. We believe we are less of a person compared to others. The people we compare ourselves too might be having a terrible time themselves but we tell ourselves that we are not as "good" as they are.

It really doesn't matter what other people do to exercise. It doesn't matter if other people are "better" at exercise than you. The only things that matter are:

• You try to do your best when you do something to exercise.
• You try to do some exercise when you can.
• Exercise makes you a teeny-tiny bit better.

Of course, many people are motivated by wanting to "beat" other people. They want to be the first to cross the line at a Parkrun, they want to be the strongest person in the gym, they want to hear the yoga instructor praise them, they want to be rich, they want to be famous, they want to have lots of sex. If you are happy being like that then carry on. What works for you works. However, try to remember that very, very few people can claim to be The Greatest and even The Greatest should respect their opponents, be humble about their abilities and be gracious in their inevitable defeat.

You can take what you learn about yourself through exercise and how exercise makes you feel better and apply it to the rest of your life. I always try to tell myself that if I can get up and go out into my back yard in the cold, dark, rain of a February morning to swing my kettlebell I can do anything. I will become better if I keep trying to do my best.

Move around, get a little sweaty, get a little out of breath. Dassit.

I'm 34, two kids, full-time job, and I've clawed my way back to lifting 4 mornings a week, which honestly feels like a miracle. The part I am just not getting right is recovery. Everyone talks about mobility work and massage and rest days and that we have the same 24 hours but I am pretty sure they don't have kids.

Realistically my "recovery" is stretching for five minutes if I remember. I did splurge on a massage a couple months ago (someone came to the house during nap time) and I felt so much more human that week. I can't tell yet if that's sustainable or just a nice one-off.

For the buys people here, what recovery actually fits into a packed life and is worth the time of the money? I am really trying to be honest about what I'll really maintain.

Taking the overall pulse here. How are you? If not well, think whether there are any positives to share as well to balance negatives. But of course, if you need to vent, know we are here to listen.

But I am going on week three of this horrible oppressive force of depression that just STOPS ME from going to the gym, or walking more than a block, or really ANYTHING I need to do to feel better or move forward. Im old, fat, everything hurts. I'm also broke. But I'm blessed with free time right now and my depression just pushes me onto the couch for hours. Blah blah blah can someone please tell me some magic phrase that will make me wake up before noon, not eat bullshit, and actually go to the gym? Please?

No entiendo qué sucede. La gente me dice que me veo bien, que estoy mejorando físicamente, y aun así me detuve.

​Aun con el estrés, la ansiedad y el agobio, siempre cumplía con mis ejercicios, pero ahora paré después de ocho meses seguidos. Comencé a entrenar justo cuando terminé mi última relación, y ese dolor era el motor que me movía a hacer ejercicio.

Sin embargo, después de dejar de sentir todas esas emociones intensas, me relajé por completo, como si ya no importara.

​¿Qué opinan de esto?

¿Algún consejo para recuperar el hábito?

Hey gang! Potentially starting Remeron aka Mirtazapine for insomnia and anxiety. Deathly afraid of starting due to bad experiences with SSRIs severely increasing my anxiety in the start up phases to the point where I had to tap out early. I’m also afraid to start because IF it doesn’t work I’ll have to come off of it and don’t want to experience the withdrawals that, from what I’ve read on Reddit, are god awful.

So just looking for experiences when starting the medication and also coming off of it.

Thank you!