Chronic depression and exercise

znharris

I know I'm not the only person, but throughout my fitness/health journey I have hit road blocks where I don't feel like exercising or doing anything productive because I will go through really bad depressive episodes. Exercising when you are depressed can be really hard. And I know that people say that exercising is good for depression. But I've found that it isn't always that simple. I've tried forcing myself to exercise where I'd go to the gym, get on a treadmill and then get back off because I just was not feeling it. I'm curious to see how others dealing with depression find ways to stay motivated or get motivated again. Sometimes I can pull myself out of it, and other times it's a lot harder. Does anyone have any special strategies?

tinkerbellang83

Finding some sort of activity that you really enjoy can be helpful. It doesn't have to specifically be a gym-type workout, things like gardening (growing your own fruit/veg can be very satisfying if you have an outdoor space), dog-walking (Here in Ireland and the UK there is a website through which you can borrow dogs if you can't keep a pet yourself for whatever reason), archery, cycling, dancing, climbing, etc.

ck2d

I exercise to manage and prevent depression. I agree that going for a walk outside - which is fantastic exercise - when you can't drag yourself to the gym can be really helpful. You can pat yourself on the back for self care when you do it.

usmcmp

Finding an exercise you really enjoy helps. Not being afraid to seek help or take medications also helps.

MichelleWithMoxie

i force myself through it. it is so incredibly beneficial to me and my mental health to get it done, it's worth the 1-2 hours of torture to feel immensely better mentally throughout the rest of the day.

fiddletime

I allowed myself to walk on the treadmill, which almost always became a jog. Ten minutes was my minimum if I "wasn't feeling it". Almost always ten turned into 30 (which was my hope when I set up that strategy). If not, at least I did ten a usually felt better about myself and life.

explodingmango

Speaking as someone who also has clinical mental blocks getting in his way and knows unpleasantly well what it's like, but is currently doing a pretty damned good job staying on top of it:

For one, the best piece of general advice I've seen to conquer workout-slacking inertia is, go to the gym for a set amount of time. Maybe an hour, maybe half an hour, it all depends on what fits in your schedule and what works for you. Now, here's the kicker - once you're there, allow yourself to slack off. With this plan you don't actually have to exercise once you're there. You just have to stay for your whole committed duration.

You'll probably have days where you just sit around and play on your phone. That's fine. But it's pretty likely that at some point, you'll find yourself bored with sitting, and you'll decide, okay, fine, you'll play with your phone while taking a leisurely stroll on the treadmill instead, or something like that. Congratulations! You are now moving not because of a sense of duty, but because you chose, willingly, to do that instead of just sitting around. Once you've cleared that barrier, it's a lot easier to ride that momentum to get back into doing and enjoying a "full" workout.

For two, I'm going to offer you something that, on the surface, might sound like the advice dear old Aunt Yogapants, who has never been depressed a day in her life and thinks depression is just a way to pathologize being bummed out and a tool to sell drugs, might give you, but it is anything but. I devised this strategy under the guidance of my therapist; it is explicitly designed for people with anxiety, depression, or other disorders that leave one feeling lethargic and disconnected. It's not a magic cure-all, there is no such thing, but it is likely to serve as a valuable tool in your coping toolkit.

The strategy is this: Take a camera - your phone is ideal for this, especially if you have an app that lets you add comments to the photos - and go for a slow, leisurely walk wherever you can convince yourself to go. While you're walking, make an active, conscious effort to notice things around you, and things you feel (focusing on the neutral to positive, but being aware of the negative has value, too). Mentally take inventory of the sounds around you - see if you can pick out little things that usually get drowned out (such as, for example, birds chirping among the city noise). Feel the terrain under your feet and take a moment to focus on that sensation. If you see anything interesting, anything at all that speaks to you, take a photo of it and take a moment to describe (either in your head or as a caption) what you find so striking about it. Just keep moving, and keep making an active effort toward being aware of the world around you.

This is meant to accomplish 3 things:

1. Because it's very low-intensity, you minimize the capacity your depression has to convince you that it's really "too hard" - thus, even on days when your depression is leaving you unable to stand the idea of breaking a sweat, you can keep yourself moving anyway. Additionally, it can be performed anywhere - even just around your own house (and just like with the going to the gym plan, "I'm not up to exercise, I'll just take my awareness walk around the house today" can end up being a springboard into going outside and around the block).
2. You are performing mindfulness/grounding exercises. That "active awareness" is generally considered one of the most useful tools for the "retraining your brain" side of recovery.
3. You are making a photographic record of things that made you feel something significant, that you can look back on in those moments when the depression tries to tell you that life is all lethargy, boredom, and numbness.

For three, if you're experiencing executive dysfunction, especially of the "clinically enforced procrastination" variety - that is, if you keep finding yourself saying "I'm gonna go to the gym. Yep, I'm gonna go to the gym. Come on, body, let's go to the gym!" and yet for some reason you just can't make yourself move - when you notice it's happening, my recommendation is to start counting down from 20, and plan to get out of your seat at 0. This forces you to clear your mind of the blocks (because you're too busy thinking about the numbers) and helps you sort of "reset", and can even make you a little impatient to get to whatever it is you're trying to do (kind of like how the last 20 seconds on the microwave seem to last 10 minutes) - you may even find yourself getting up before 0.

Finally, note and congratulate yourself for small achievements. When depression is screaming that you didn't do enough, make a point to remind yourself consciously that you did infinitely better than the depression wanted to let you do. It may not sink in easily - at first you may just be repeating what you know on a factual level but have a horrible time convincing yourself of it on an emotional level - but if anything will make it sink in, it's repetition. If possible, get people who understand what you're going through to help with those affirmations (and this forum might be a good place to start!).

I hope any of these strategies prove useful to you.

cefleischman

I agree that depression has caused a roadblock for me. I've read a lot of articles on how exercise can help elevate your mood. You may know the articles I'm talking about that say, "Go for a run and you'll feel the happy endorphins when you're done!" I notice I only feel mood elevation after exercise IF I already felt good before working out OR if I'm starting to see results with my diet and fitness routine. That's just me personally, but I wanted to let you know you're not alone.

cefleischman

explodingmango wrote: »

Speaking as someone who also has clinical mental blocks getting in his way and knows unpleasantly well what it's like, but is currently doing a pretty damned good job staying on top of it:

For one, the best piece of general advice I've seen to conquer workout-slacking inertia is, go to the gym for a set amount of time. Maybe an hour, maybe half an hour, it all depends on what fits in your schedule and what works for you. Now, here's the kicker - once you're there, allow yourself to slack off. With this plan you don't actually have to exercise once you're there. You just have to stay for your whole committed duration.

You'll probably have days where you just sit around and play on your phone. That's fine. But it's pretty likely that at some point, you'll find yourself bored with sitting, and you'll decide, okay, fine, you'll play with your phone while taking a leisurely stroll on the treadmill instead, or something like that. Congratulations! You are now moving not because of a sense of duty, but because you chose, willingly, to do that instead of just sitting around. Once you've cleared that barrier, it's a lot easier to ride that momentum to get back into doing and enjoying a "full" workout.

For two, I'm going to offer you something that, on the surface, might sound like the advice dear old Aunt Yogapants, who has never been depressed a day in her life and thinks depression is just a way to pathologize being bummed out and a tool to sell drugs, might give you, but it is anything but. I devised this strategy under the guidance of my therapist; it is explicitly designed for people with anxiety, depression, or other disorders that leave one feeling lethargic and disconnected. It's not a magic cure-all, there is no such thing, but it is likely to serve as a valuable tool in your coping toolkit.

The strategy is this: Take a camera - your phone is ideal for this, especially if you have an app that lets you add comments to the photos - and go for a slow, leisurely walk wherever you can convince yourself to go. While you're walking, make an active, conscious effort to notice things around you, and things you feel (focusing on the neutral to positive, but being aware of the negative has value, too). Mentally take inventory of the sounds around you - see if you can pick out little things that usually get drowned out (such as, for example, birds chirping among the city noise). Feel the terrain under your feet and take a moment to focus on that sensation. If you see anything interesting, anything at all that speaks to you, take a photo of it and take a moment to describe (either in your head or as a caption) what you find so striking about it. Just keep moving, and keep making an active effort toward being aware of the world around you.

This is meant to accomplish 3 things:

1. Because it's very low-intensity, you minimize the capacity your depression has to convince you that it's really "too hard" - thus, even on days when your depression is leaving you unable to stand the idea of breaking a sweat, you can keep yourself moving anyway. Additionally, it can be performed anywhere - even just around your own house (and just like with the going to the gym plan, "I'm not up to exercise, I'll just take my awareness walk around the house today" can end up being a springboard into going outside and around the block).
2. You are performing mindfulness/grounding exercises. That "active awareness" is generally considered one of the most useful tools for the "retraining your brain" side of recovery.
3. You are making a photographic record of things that made you feel something significant, that you can look back on in those moments when the depression tries to tell you that life is all lethargy, boredom, and numbness.

For three, if you're experiencing executive dysfunction, especially of the "clinically enforced procrastination" variety - that is, if you keep finding yourself saying "I'm gonna go to the gym. Yep, I'm gonna go to the gym. Come on, body, let's go to the gym!" and yet for some reason you just can't make yourself move - when you notice it's happening, my recommendation is to start counting down from 20, and plan to get out of your seat at 0. This forces you to clear your mind of the blocks (because you're too busy thinking about the numbers) and helps you sort of "reset", and can even make you a little impatient to get to whatever it is you're trying to do (kind of like how the last 20 seconds on the microwave seem to last 10 minutes) - you may even find yourself getting up before 0.

Finally, note and congratulate yourself for small achievements. When depression is screaming that you didn't do enough, make a point to remind yourself consciously that you did infinitely better than the depression wanted to let you do. It may not sink in easily - at first you may just be repeating what you know on a factual level but have a horrible time convincing yourself of it on an emotional level - but if anything will make it sink in, it's repetition. If possible, get people who understand what you're going through to help with those affirmations (and this forum might be a good place to start!).

I hope any of these strategies prove useful to you.

I just have to say this was a fantastic response!! Thank you!

znharris

Thanks for the responses guys! All of these are really helpful

znharris

explodingmango wrote: »

Speaking as someone who also has clinical mental blocks getting in his way and knows unpleasantly well what it's like, but is currently doing a pretty damned good job staying on top of it:

For one, the best piece of general advice I've seen to conquer workout-slacking inertia is, go to the gym for a set amount of time. Maybe an hour, maybe half an hour, it all depends on what fits in your schedule and what works for you. Now, here's the kicker - once you're there, allow yourself to slack off. With this plan you don't actually have to exercise once you're there. You just have to stay for your whole committed duration.

You'll probably have days where you just sit around and play on your phone. That's fine. But it's pretty likely that at some point, you'll find yourself bored with sitting, and you'll decide, okay, fine, you'll play with your phone while taking a leisurely stroll on the treadmill instead, or something like that. Congratulations! You are now moving not because of a sense of duty, but because you chose, willingly, to do that instead of just sitting around. Once you've cleared that barrier, it's a lot easier to ride that momentum to get back into doing and enjoying a "full" workout.

For two, I'm going to offer you something that, on the surface, might sound like the advice dear old Aunt Yogapants, who has never been depressed a day in her life and thinks depression is just a way to pathologize being bummed out and a tool to sell drugs, might give you, but it is anything but. I devised this strategy under the guidance of my therapist; it is explicitly designed for people with anxiety, depression, or other disorders that leave one feeling lethargic and disconnected. It's not a magic cure-all, there is no such thing, but it is likely to serve as a valuable tool in your coping toolkit.

The strategy is this: Take a camera - your phone is ideal for this, especially if you have an app that lets you add comments to the photos - and go for a slow, leisurely walk wherever you can convince yourself to go. While you're walking, make an active, conscious effort to notice things around you, and things you feel (focusing on the neutral to positive, but being aware of the negative has value, too). Mentally take inventory of the sounds around you - see if you can pick out little things that usually get drowned out (such as, for example, birds chirping among the city noise). Feel the terrain under your feet and take a moment to focus on that sensation. If you see anything interesting, anything at all that speaks to you, take a photo of it and take a moment to describe (either in your head or as a caption) what you find so striking about it. Just keep moving, and keep making an active effort toward being aware of the world around you.

This is meant to accomplish 3 things:

1. Because it's very low-intensity, you minimize the capacity your depression has to convince you that it's really "too hard" - thus, even on days when your depression is leaving you unable to stand the idea of breaking a sweat, you can keep yourself moving anyway. Additionally, it can be performed anywhere - even just around your own house (and just like with the going to the gym plan, "I'm not up to exercise, I'll just take my awareness walk around the house today" can end up being a springboard into going outside and around the block).
2. You are performing mindfulness/grounding exercises. That "active awareness" is generally considered one of the most useful tools for the "retraining your brain" side of recovery.
3. You are making a photographic record of things that made you feel something significant, that you can look back on in those moments when the depression tries to tell you that life is all lethargy, boredom, and numbness.

For three, if you're experiencing executive dysfunction, especially of the "clinically enforced procrastination" variety - that is, if you keep finding yourself saying "I'm gonna go to the gym. Yep, I'm gonna go to the gym. Come on, body, let's go to the gym!" and yet for some reason you just can't make yourself move - when you notice it's happening, my recommendation is to start counting down from 20, and plan to get out of your seat at 0. This forces you to clear your mind of the blocks (because you're too busy thinking about the numbers) and helps you sort of "reset", and can even make you a little impatient to get to whatever it is you're trying to do (kind of like how the last 20 seconds on the microwave seem to last 10 minutes) - you may even find yourself getting up before 0.

Finally, note and congratulate yourself for small achievements. When depression is screaming that you didn't do enough, make a point to remind yourself consciously that you did infinitely better than the depression wanted to let you do. It may not sink in easily - at first you may just be repeating what you know on a factual level but have a horrible time convincing yourself of it on an emotional level - but if anything will make it sink in, it's repetition. If possible, get people who understand what you're going through to help with those affirmations (and this forum might be a good place to start!).

I hope any of these strategies prove useful to you.

explodingmango wrote: »

Speaking as someone who also has clinical mental blocks getting in his way and knows unpleasantly well what it's like, but is currently doing a pretty damned good job staying on top of it:

For one, the best piece of general advice I've seen to conquer workout-slacking inertia is, go to the gym for a set amount of time. Maybe an hour, maybe half an hour, it all depends on what fits in your schedule and what works for you. Now, here's the kicker - once you're there, allow yourself to slack off. With this plan you don't actually have to exercise once you're there. You just have to stay for your whole committed duration.

You'll probably have days where you just sit around and play on your phone. That's fine. But it's pretty likely that at some point, you'll find yourself bored with sitting, and you'll decide, okay, fine, you'll play with your phone while taking a leisurely stroll on the treadmill instead, or something like that. Congratulations! You are now moving not because of a sense of duty, but because you chose, willingly, to do that instead of just sitting around. Once you've cleared that barrier, it's a lot easier to ride that momentum to get back into doing and enjoying a "full" workout.

For two, I'm going to offer you something that, on the surface, might sound like the advice dear old Aunt Yogapants, who has never been depressed a day in her life and thinks depression is just a way to pathologize being bummed out and a tool to sell drugs, might give you, but it is anything but. I devised this strategy under the guidance of my therapist; it is explicitly designed for people with anxiety, depression, or other disorders that leave one feeling lethargic and disconnected. It's not a magic cure-all, there is no such thing, but it is likely to serve as a valuable tool in your coping toolkit.

The strategy is this: Take a camera - your phone is ideal for this, especially if you have an app that lets you add comments to the photos - and go for a slow, leisurely walk wherever you can convince yourself to go. While you're walking, make an active, conscious effort to notice things around you, and things you feel (focusing on the neutral to positive, but being aware of the negative has value, too). Mentally take inventory of the sounds around you - see if you can pick out little things that usually get drowned out (such as, for example, birds chirping among the city noise). Feel the terrain under your feet and take a moment to focus on that sensation. If you see anything interesting, anything at all that speaks to you, take a photo of it and take a moment to describe (either in your head or as a caption) what you find so striking about it. Just keep moving, and keep making an active effort toward being aware of the world around you.

This is meant to accomplish 3 things:

1. Because it's very low-intensity, you minimize the capacity your depression has to convince you that it's really "too hard" - thus, even on days when your depression is leaving you unable to stand the idea of breaking a sweat, you can keep yourself moving anyway. Additionally, it can be performed anywhere - even just around your own house (and just like with the going to the gym plan, "I'm not up to exercise, I'll just take my awareness walk around the house today" can end up being a springboard into going outside and around the block).
2. You are performing mindfulness/grounding exercises. That "active awareness" is generally considered one of the most useful tools for the "retraining your brain" side of recovery.
3. You are making a photographic record of things that made you feel something significant, that you can look back on in those moments when the depression tries to tell you that life is all lethargy, boredom, and numbness.

For three, if you're experiencing executive dysfunction, especially of the "clinically enforced procrastination" variety - that is, if you keep finding yourself saying "I'm gonna go to the gym. Yep, I'm gonna go to the gym. Come on, body, let's go to the gym!" and yet for some reason you just can't make yourself move - when you notice it's happening, my recommendation is to start counting down from 20, and plan to get out of your seat at 0. This forces you to clear your mind of the blocks (because you're too busy thinking about the numbers) and helps you sort of "reset", and can even make you a little impatient to get to whatever it is you're trying to do (kind of like how the last 20 seconds on the microwave seem to last 10 minutes) - you may even find yourself getting up before 0.

Finally, note and congratulate yourself for small achievements. When depression is screaming that you didn't do enough, make a point to remind yourself consciously that you did infinitely better than the depression wanted to let you do. It may not sink in easily - at first you may just be repeating what you know on a factual level but have a horrible time convincing yourself of it on an emotional level - but if anything will make it sink in, it's repetition. If possible, get people who understand what you're going through to help with those affirmations (and this forum might be a good place to start!).

I hope any of these strategies prove useful to you.

Thanks for these!!! Some of these strategies I've never heard of before, but they sound like great ideas that I could definitely see myself implementing when I have a hard time getting up and moving.

Kullerva

They call it clinical depression where I'm from. When it comes to exercise, I experience 2 roadblocks:

(1) Not wanting to exercise at all;
(2) Not wanting to go outside, see people, exercise, etc.

The first has gotten better over time (and the second has remained about the same). When I don't want to exercise, I take a look at my reasons why. Am I injured? Bored? Lazy? How many steps have I already done this week? If I feel I need a break, I decide to take one--for a day. More than that has me climbing the walls, because I have way more energy after losing weight.

Another strategy that works with (1) is what others have stated: do something easy/low impact for a set period of time at a specific time of day. Eventually, this will turn into a habit, and you won't have to think about it anymore.

(2) is trickier because I have neighbors and thin walls, so it's not like I can jazzercise at all hours of the day and night. Critically, I never force myself to go outside, as that makes my anxiety worse. However, my house always needs cleaning, and I can't seem to go more than a day without my Stepmania fix. (Stepmania is a free game that you can play on a foam dance mat. It doesn't burn as many calories as running, but it'll get you sweating like nobody's business--and it's addictively fun).

LillysMomma09

When I get too far down my very supportive hubby notices and will be on me to go for a run. If I can't make myself, he will literally push for a walk with me just to get me going again. (he doesn't run) Having home support is so helpful.

runningforthetrain

@explodingmango Thank you so much for the above tips; I too have not heard these and they sound helpful.

shadowbaby4

I've found that the type of exercise makes a big difference in whether I'm going to be able to motivate myself to do it. I hate hate HATE going to the gym, and workout videos on YouTube are like instructions for self-torture! But I recently signed up for martial arts classes, and I'm really loving them.

Being in a group motivates me to push myself a little harder than I would alone, the workouts don't FEEL like workouts, and I like that I'm building skill and confidence instead of just running five miles to nowhere. The little bit of social contact is good for my depression, too. Even though I'm the type to get all anxious about being seen out in public, somehow this doesn't seem hard to me!

I definitely recommend giving martial arts a try.

ACanadian22

I have extreme anxiety(actually housebound agrophobia) so getting out to walk is a killer for me too. I walk 6 days a week outside for at least an hour close to home. It is very hard...especially when I live in a small community praying no one will stop to chat to me somedays. I will admit though that when I am done, I do in fact feel better, but my heart rate is up before I even start usually lol

EatingAndKnitting

explodingmango wrote: »

Speaking as someone who also has clinical mental blocks getting in his way and knows unpleasantly well what it's like, but is currently doing a pretty damned good job staying on top of it:

For one, the best piece of general advice I've seen to conquer workout-slacking inertia is, go to the gym for a set amount of time. Maybe an hour, maybe half an hour, it all depends on what fits in your schedule and what works for you. Now, here's the kicker - once you're there, allow yourself to slack off. With this plan you don't actually have to exercise once you're there. You just have to stay for your whole committed duration.

You'll probably have days where you just sit around and play on your phone. That's fine. But it's pretty likely that at some point, you'll find yourself bored with sitting, and you'll decide, okay, fine, you'll play with your phone while taking a leisurely stroll on the treadmill instead, or something like that. Congratulations! You are now moving not because of a sense of duty, but because you chose, willingly, to do that instead of just sitting around. Once you've cleared that barrier, it's a lot easier to ride that momentum to get back into doing and enjoying a "full" workout.

For two, I'm going to offer you something that, on the surface, might sound like the advice dear old Aunt Yogapants, who has never been depressed a day in her life and thinks depression is just a way to pathologize being bummed out and a tool to sell drugs, might give you, but it is anything but. I devised this strategy under the guidance of my therapist; it is explicitly designed for people with anxiety, depression, or other disorders that leave one feeling lethargic and disconnected. It's not a magic cure-all, there is no such thing, but it is likely to serve as a valuable tool in your coping toolkit.

The strategy is this: Take a camera - your phone is ideal for this, especially if you have an app that lets you add comments to the photos - and go for a slow, leisurely walk wherever you can convince yourself to go. While you're walking, make an active, conscious effort to notice things around you, and things you feel (focusing on the neutral to positive, but being aware of the negative has value, too). Mentally take inventory of the sounds around you - see if you can pick out little things that usually get drowned out (such as, for example, birds chirping among the city noise). Feel the terrain under your feet and take a moment to focus on that sensation. If you see anything interesting, anything at all that speaks to you, take a photo of it and take a moment to describe (either in your head or as a caption) what you find so striking about it. Just keep moving, and keep making an active effort toward being aware of the world around you.

This is meant to accomplish 3 things:

1. Because it's very low-intensity, you minimize the capacity your depression has to convince you that it's really "too hard" - thus, even on days when your depression is leaving you unable to stand the idea of breaking a sweat, you can keep yourself moving anyway. Additionally, it can be performed anywhere - even just around your own house (and just like with the going to the gym plan, "I'm not up to exercise, I'll just take my awareness walk around the house today" can end up being a springboard into going outside and around the block).
2. You are performing mindfulness/grounding exercises. That "active awareness" is generally considered one of the most useful tools for the "retraining your brain" side of recovery.
3. You are making a photographic record of things that made you feel something significant, that you can look back on in those moments when the depression tries to tell you that life is all lethargy, boredom, and numbness.

For three, if you're experiencing executive dysfunction, especially of the "clinically enforced procrastination" variety - that is, if you keep finding yourself saying "I'm gonna go to the gym. Yep, I'm gonna go to the gym. Come on, body, let's go to the gym!" and yet for some reason you just can't make yourself move - when you notice it's happening, my recommendation is to start counting down from 20, and plan to get out of your seat at 0. This forces you to clear your mind of the blocks (because you're too busy thinking about the numbers) and helps you sort of "reset", and can even make you a little impatient to get to whatever it is you're trying to do (kind of like how the last 20 seconds on the microwave seem to last 10 minutes) - you may even find yourself getting up before 0.

Finally, note and congratulate yourself for small achievements. When depression is screaming that you didn't do enough, make a point to remind yourself consciously that you did infinitely better than the depression wanted to let you do. It may not sink in easily - at first you may just be repeating what you know on a factual level but have a horrible time convincing yourself of it on an emotional level - but if anything will make it sink in, it's repetition. If possible, get people who understand what you're going through to help with those affirmations (and this forum might be a good place to start!).

I hope any of these strategies prove useful to you.

This is amazing stuff. I have bipolar disorder, and mostly depression. I spent a week inpatient and four weeks outpatient in a mental health facility a couple years ago and this is very similar the type of advice they gave us there.

For me the number one thing is proper medications and taking them every day. Without them I get into a bad slump, and want to die (or get manic). It's hard to get out of bed and take a shower at those times, let alone go for a walk. Having a routine that you stick to makes a difference.

Find a trusted friend, or one of these weight lose betting sites, and put money down on your workout efforts. Especially if you don't have a lot of money, knowing that $10 is at stake if you don't go for a walk twice a week for a month, would be enough to motivate me - just like the threat of being fired kept me going to work when I was severely depressed (actually doing a good job while I was there was a different story).

Give yourself rewards for doing the thing every chance you get. I like stickers. They are cheap, colorful, and a calendar full of them is satisfying. Every ten stickers give yourself a bigger treat, maybe a small chocolate bar or a pack of gum. Every twenty stickers give yourself a bigger reward...

Consider setting a goal for yourself. There's a popular 100 day goal site, I forget what it is off the top of my head, but Google will know. You set a goal for 100 days and print out a chart and cross off every day you do it. Set a small goal like walking for ten minutes, or just going to the gym daily (you don't actually have to work out, just drive there and walk through the doors). Give yourself a reward for every twenty five days you do, and maybe go easy on yourself if you skip a day. Try not to, but focus on doing your goal 100 times instead of for 100 days. Take a bit of pressure off, because depression lies, and we are our worst enemies when depressed.

Good luck!

znharris

@Kullerva I've actually never heard of Stepmania. But I love games and I am willing to give it a try. So this is great advice!