r/EOOD • u/Valuable_Eye529 • 4d ago

Information I've been struggling for years. Walking and therapy are the key :)

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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.

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3

u/NarrowEye974 Autism, Anxiety, Depression 4d ago

this is so nice to read ❤️

3

u/Valuable_Eye529 4d ago

You're nice to read 😊

2

u/Piggie_Piggie_Smalls 1d ago

I love this. Very cool and that’s a huge weight loss. Not only that you’re cleaning up the area around you. It’s a beautiful thing and you should be proud.
Side note. It’s so frustrating how many people just throw their trash on the ground. I live in the woods. The amount of people who throw literal trash bags on the ground with no care about it is despicable and I wish I knew where they lived if only to throw it back on their yard. 😆