Exercise as an emotional crutch?

[moonbeam31]

Hey Lizzo,
I find my exercise time my 'me' time. I am a mother of 3 kids, I work part time and I love to exercise and I feel great afterwards-even if I am sore the next day? Only us vidiots would get that one! I sometimes get obsessed with it too. I feel it validates me, I like the feel of being in a class even if I am just at home, it is something only for me as nobody else in my house has the slightest interest in exercise. I once was a cosmetologist and had to stop because of skin allergies to the chemicals and even just having my hands in water constantly. I have had kids and stayed home to care for them and kind of lost who I was. I now work 3 days a week doing medical billing-very boring to a creative type like me, but it pays some bills and gets me out of the house three days a week. So, I guess the only part of me is my workouts. I used to go to aerobics class as a teen and loved it! I loved getting dressed in the workout clothes,going to class and doing the whole routine. I never liked competitive sports-but I always loved working out-that is my sport. I do not get to workout nearly as much as I would like because my life gets in the way-but I do what I can. I don't know if any of this helps you or if you can identify with my situation, but we are all here at VF for similar reasons! There are worse things we could be doing for sure!
Take care and be Blessed!
Tracy

[RedPanda]

Just adding that there seems to be a tendency today to pathologise everything.

Sure, some people exercise to the point of over-training, get injured, then continue to exercise at the same level of intensity even though they are injured. That's clearly a problem. But IMO exercising to reduce stress during a difficult time - as long as it doesn't interfere with your day-to-day functioning, or get to the point of overtraining - is fine.

Back in my running days, a colleague (who seems to have a strange obsession with my diet and exercise regime) told me in a very censorious tone that I was "addicted to endorphins".

And apparently, I have orthorexia nervosa because I get pleasure from knowing how healthy my food is, refuse to eat processed food, and "won’t eat a piece of birthday cake just because it’s a special occasion."

As Jillian Michaels would say, "Really?"

I say, as long as your habits don't negatively affect your health, bank balance, job performance or relationships, it's fine and dandy. That line may be in a different place for different people, and we do need to know when we're approaching the line, but until then, everyone should do whatever floats their boat.

[moonbeam31]

RedPanda, I agree-everything in balance! There can be too much of a good thing too, so we all need to just keep it all in balance. We are all here at VF becasue we like to exercise!

[Kimberly33]

Originally Posted by Kathryn

I don't think this is off topic at all.

I agree--it's clearly related to both health and fitness, so I removed the "Kind of OT" We're also trying to discourage off topic threads, so it's better that ones that are really on topic not be mislabeled.

[Kimberly33]

/mod had off

Originally Posted by Kathryn

For example, go to www.meetup.com and look for groups that have similar interests to you (you could fiind exercise-related ones, like running, or hobby-related ones, or lifestyle-related ones. Poke around a bit and see if there is a group or two that could give you the opportunity to meet people with like interests. For example, I'm in a vegan meetup group, a holistic health group, and used to be in a raw-food group. I'd like to find a jewelry-making or speed-walking group in my area, but so far, no luck). I'm sure there are quite a few groups to choose from in the Chicago area.

This is such a good idea for anyone feeling like all they have going for them is exercise. You get to meet people of different ages, different backgrounds but with similar interests. It can really open up your world in a great way.

I used to be in a Sweet Adelines Chorus where in my 30s I was still one of the youngest women, but we all loved music, and we were good! It was really the first time I started to feel like my new city was home for me.

[lisarah]

Originally Posted by videofit

"Believing is seeing." If you believe every situation is negative, that is all you will see (and attract). Even calling exercise "an emotional crutch" is putting a negative spin on it!

For more information about changing your self-defeating, negative beliefs:

http://www.lefkoeinstitute.com/

This technique changed my life and I am a much happier person, which I never thought was possible. There have even been scientific studies (one involved criminals) showing it works where other systems have failed.

I'm not the OP but this looks interesting - positive thinking is so powerful. thanks for posting!

[neatski]

Liz, I relate, too. Since we're pretty close geographically, I also wanted to point out that the winter may be making you feel worse than you normally do! I've been in Indiana for three years and feel so blue during these winter months that sometimes I attribute it to grad school when it's really just the cold and lack of sunshine. When spring comes, I feel so much better about everything.

Anyway, I've also experienced periods of extreme disillusionment with my field. Exercise has been an integral part of keeping myself treading water when everything else seems to be dragging me down. In particular, always changing my routine and thus making improvements to my performance has been essential when I've felt particularly stuck or static due to the extremely restrictive nature of my program. "Crutch" could be one way to describe it, but "support" is another way.

[Susan G.]

I actually (nicely envy your exercise habit as a way of coping. I think you're building a sound foundation for your future, doing something good for yourself when other things in your world are unsatisfactory. There always are things we can control and can't.

As others said, you're at a difficult juncture, going from student to real world. While many work places can have difficult personalities,one of the creative challenges is to figure out how to work with them or sometimes move on to something else. There are realistic teachers, but there also are burned-out bitter ones. I've found a strong correlation between great teachers and their love for their subject and its world.

I've found--it gets better. As life continues we accumulate experiences, resources and mastery.

You have a great attitude. You sound very focused, have clear goals, want to do great things and are preparing yourself. You cope with challenges constructively. As difficult as the view looks now, I sense good things ahead for you.

[Lizzo]

Tracy- I feel sometimes exercise validates me as well. There are days where not matter how many errands I run or how many chores I finish, I just cannot feel accomplished until I do my workout.

Neatski- I think this winter is certainly not helping. I actually found the snowstorm we got last week mildly amusing, but snow is only part of the problem. It is just so blah this time of the year! I can handle cold weather fine and know how to gear up for snowstorms, but combine all that with cloudy days, running noses, gloomy people, and no sunshine in sight, and I think it is getting to me mentally.

Susan- Thank you. I try to maintain a positive attitude and balance it with a realistic attitude. It can be hard at times, but I’m doing my best to cope and recognizing that the best is yet to come.

[Debbie S.]

Even though I used the term "crutch", I never viewed my workouts in a negative way. Not only is exercise as much as a habit as brushing my teeth, I LOVE working out.

Lizzo, you guys have had a really rough winter. Do you buy chance use a light that treats SADD? I know this works for many people in my real life.