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In reply to the discussion: How do I bring topic up to wife without sounding sexist? [View all]pipi_k
(21,020 posts)As a long time sufferer of depression, I sometimes have bouts of milder depression interspersed with deeper, more frightening ones.
About 13 or 14 years ago I had a bout with one of the deep, black hole scary ones.
Above I made mention somewhere about depression that's so bad that just breathing is too much trouble. Often it's accompanied by extreme anxiety as well. To say it's hell is an understatement.
Anyway, Mr Pipi was concerned.
He "squealed" on me to my therapist, who told him to make me go into our cellar rec room and get on the treadmill, even if I just stood there for five minutes.
I hated him for doing that, but I did it. Then I thought, well shit...I walked all the way down these stinking stairs, I might as well turn the damned thing on for a couple of minutes. So I did. And I walked.
Just for a few minutes...and when I was done, I felt tingling in my body. My blood was moving. My muscles felt relaxed. And my mood improved for about 30 minutes.
But it was a start. Each day I would go downstairs and walk...just a bit...on the treadmill, and I would feel better and better.
That's when I realized that Mr Pipi "forcing" me to go down and stand on the treadmill at my therapist's direction probably saved my life. For real...I was this close [] to being suicidal.
Might not work for everyone, but it definitely worked for me.