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The endorphin rush
Posted Monday 6 August 2012
I don’t see my future holding a place for medication; I want to become a doctor and eventually a psychiatrist and I struggle with the concept of being on a rotation or shift while taking medication that affects my emotions, concentration and sleep. Yeah, they control me in a fashion and they do control the parts of me that I feel I need to become a successful doctor.
So since my last appointment with my psychiatrist, where he explained how the reduction of my medication should work, I have been thinking long and hard about how to do it. He told me that I shouldn’t even think about it for six months and then I must be prepared for the side effects of reducing gradually.
Well, ok, I don’t think it’s been six months, but I am preparing for the big change – I haven’t cut down the medication yet, but I am getting ready to. One thing that has really helped me prepare for this is to concentrate on things besides medication that can really help. I know that the essentials in maintaining a healthy mind are food, mood and exercise, so this is something I have really been focusing on.
When it comes to eating healthily, I know that fruits are at the top of the list, though what about the rest of the goodness, like omega 3s that mainly come from fish? I’m a vegetarian, so fish is not an option for me and I try and find alternatives.
As for exercise, those who know me well know that I have good intentions when it comes to exercising, though I definitely have an ‘all or nothing’ personality. So when I took up running a few months back, I wasn’t expecting to bruise and stretch my hamstrings in both knees, leaving me walking like a cowboy for weeks!
I knew I could benefit from professional help in getting my healthy lifestyle balance right, so I spoke to my GP about it. Luckily I have a great relationship with my GP, I know not everyone does, which is a shame because they can be really helpful and it was great when they referred me to the Healthy Lifestyle Team.
This Healthy Lifestyle Team comes in two phases. These are meant to be run at the same time but due to waiting lists, they didn’t in my case. I started off with the healthy eating aspect and we went through the foods I should be eating, what are starchy foods, what are carbs, etc.
Though we always came to the sticking point of where to get protein and omega 3s from, due to my vegetarianism, we found a solution and it now looks like I will be eating walnuts until the cows come home!
Then I was able to start with the exercise part of the program, where you are slowly introduced to the machines that you would find at the gym. It is not designed to get your muscles pumping and growing like Arnie, but to get you exercising healthily. I have always had an irrational fear of gyms and the machines within and that is what has stopped me from going in the past.
But due to the way that you are introduced to the gym, there is no time or space to let the fears and anxiety take hold. You are too focused on getting fit and healthy to worry whether people are watching you look like an idiot on the cross trainer (which I did). The personal trainers are there to support you and guide you into gently building up your courage and strength on the machines and assist in any questions you have about exercise. You definitely get the personal touch with this service.
So, both of the aspects of Healthy Lifestyle Team have been working together for three weeks now and I can honestly and truly say that I feel the difference. I am clearer in my thinking; happy within myself; have determination in everything I put my mind to. Sitting and watching TV does not interest me as it used to because I want to get up and move; do something physical.
While this is a great feeling, sometimes I worry about how the endorphins are combining with my medication to give me this ‘high’. From past experience it’s like standing on the edge of a cliff waiting to fall into the depths of depression. I’ve only been doing this for three weeks, so I know it’s way too early to make any permanent changes to my medication and I’ll be monitoring how this healthy and happy lifestyle is making me feel in the long term. Luckily I know that if there is anything that scares or worries me, then I can go back to see my GP.
I would definitely recommend the changes I have made in my life recently, but do consult your relevant healthcare professional before reducing any of your medication or taking part in rigorous exercise.
Tracey
Follow Tracey on Twitter - @EhOhSaysYes
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2 Comments
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I've been vegetarian for 20 years; I shouldn't worry about the protein and omega 3 doubts, as I'm sure they're unfounded. I find being veggie has helped with depression a great deal, it's part of your identity and something to be really proud of! Wow, the Healthy Lifestyle Team sounds great. It's so good to hear that GP's can do something other than just scribble out a prescription. For me, regular exercise (running and cycling) is absolutely essential for my mental health and always has been. It's not just the exercise, but also getting out and being surrounded by nature, away from the "rate race". I guess it helps me put life in perspective. So I recommend getting those endorphins flowing in the countryside as well as in the gym. Good luck Tracey!
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You are doing great!
A few hints from recovery ten years ago from 30 years of depression:
Cycling saves your knees from the problems running can give.
A second hand exercise bike costs very little and gives you a gym at home.
Keep the window open when you bike at home and you are getting the added value of Eco-biking without being put off exercising by the weather outdoors.
Put a TV by your indoor bike. Then you have a posh gym of your own.
Get as much daylight as you can, avoiding sunburn. S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder, the depression from short, dark days has an incidence of zero at the Equator rising to a massive 28% in Scandinavia. Humans are happier with more day light, and you can easily get a daylight bulb to put in a table light by your computer or your chair.
Some reasonable aerobic exercise every day is far better than a big splurge once a week, to maintain a steady supply of added endorphins.
It is great to find a chum to go to the gym with or to exercise at home with. You keep each other motivated.
You already have the biggest asset of all, the determination to recover fully.
No one else, Psychiatrist, CPN, GP, family member, or Gods, can supply this asset to you a well as YOU CAN!
You are right to be very thoughtful about the drugs you take. NHS staff are too often convinced that 'giving up pills causes relapses'.
In my case pills kept me feeling ill and demotivated for many years. Two months of daily exercise got me off them completely ten years ago. I am just one case, though, not a clinical trial result... but it is fully and certainly established now that, in very many cases of depressive illness, exercise should be the medical prescription of first choice. Stick to sensible, very aerobic regular exercise and you should find you are able to use far less pharmaceuticals, and have far less of their dulling and stupefying effects on your way to full recovery.
Thank you for your very useful blog.
All best wishes,
Nuffin
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