Cheaper Than Therapy

 

Works better, too.

Some people turn to yoga, tai chi, reading, writing, even gardening, to calm their mind and refocus their energy. I run. When I feel like I'm going to break down in tears or when I'm getting overwhelmed by a crushing feeling of unexplained panic that makes it hard for me to breathe, I run. I run so that the tears can't fall. I run until the tears that do fall are replaced by sweat. I run until I'm too tired to feel anything but heavy legs and tight lungs.

 

I can't always explain why I feel panicky and unable to deal with the simple feat of getting through the day, but I'm learning how to replace the unhealthy coping mechanisms with healthier ones. I have always been the type to feel the need to run away from life when I start to feel this way, but I've learned that you can't run away from yourself. I started to run to work off that bubbling anxiety and panic and to avoid breaking down in a heap of unwarranted self-pity. And it works. It's not happiness that I feel at the end of the run, it's the ability to breathe and to feel better able to continue on with my day. 

 

 

However, there are those times - especially when anger is amongst all those negative emotions - when running isn't enough. That's when boxing comes in handy. Each strike on the bag is a hit back at the all consuming melancholy that threatens to take over. I may not have control over what happens to me, but I have control over how I deal with it. Hit the bag and cry. Scream. Get it all out. It's a form of therapy that is unparallel to anything else that I've tried

 

We all have control over how we react to what life - and depression - throws at us. Use your body to fight back. You might be surprised at the power you have within yourself to turn it around.

 

Love,

 

M