How to stay motivated while being depressed/after a relapse?

I thought I'd open up this thread because I didn't see a similar one around; if I overread it, I'm sorry!

I am recovering from an eating disorder and have dysthymia (not fulfilling all signs of a depression, but the symptoms I have, exist already a couple of years) and it's sometimes really hard to maintain strong.
A huge problem is the sleeping factor. I switch from insomnia (not being able to fall asleep; not being able to sleep through the night; waking up pretty early, around 5 am, and falling back asleep several times without feeling rested) and hypersomnia (sleeping 10-14 hours a day, still feeling crappy, and if I try to sleep less, I'll fall asleep over the day, sitting on a chair on something).

When you have symptoms of a depression, it's hard to continue being active, because your head (and your body) screams for rest. All you want is lie down. But the point is, it's the wrong thing to do.
Because you won't get any energy back, you'll simply start feeling even more worn out.

So I thought I'd just sum up a few things I collected over time and if you want to correct me or add something, feel free to do so! Many of the things I want to post are by the way also helpful if you had a relapse and binged again/stopped going to the gym or whatever

The first ones are mostly about being active.



1. You don't need to feel motivated to get something done.

While it is important to listen to the borders your body is telling you, a tricky thing is to ignore the voice that wants you to lie on that couch and eat a package of chips. You don't need to finish a super- intense workout, but getting active in the first place is really important! Be it going out for a long walk, ride to school/work/university by bike, doing some yoga in the morning. Start slowly- but start!


2. Don't expect the very best if you start again!

Especially if you have sleeping problems, have eaten unhealthily for a longer period of time or if you haven't exercised for a week or longer, your body will propably notice. You will feel sleepy, not being able to do as much as you want.
I was really disappointed when I wanted to go for a run and I barely managed to run 2km on the treadmill instead of my usual 5km. It was annoying. But patience is the key.
Give yourself time to recovery properly, to find strength and motivation again, to build up some muscles etc. It'll help!


3. Don't change everything at once.

If you are a starter and you haven't lived quite healthily until today, I can only suggest you not to change all of your habits at all. Why not? Because you'll go to that for 1 week, 2 weeks, maybe a month, but eventually you might fall back into old habits. If a diet or your workout plan feels like punishment, it's not very likely that you'll stick to it.


4. Search for workouts you enjoy.

Sometimes it is necessary to go through things we don't really enjoy. Because they are effective, for example. But if you are a beginner and/or you are feeling depressed, it's hard enough to get yourself to the point to actually getting active again. So many kinds of sports exist; watch out for a type of sport you can really enjoy!
Be it swimming, spinning, lifting weights, pilates, zumba etc. There are many different kinds; sports you can do alone, with a friend, in a group. Start with something you feel comfortable with.
And eventually, you can try to bring up some variation and combine some things (lifting weights + cardio is quite effective, for example). But first of all, try to learn how to LIKE sports. It shouldn't be a punishment or something you need to endure to get the body you want.


5. Do something every day.

This is a tough one. Especially when I am "in my hole", my muscles hurt quite easily and the sore muscles won't be there for 1-2, but fo 5-6 days, even if I chose a light workout. So I really mean it; do something every day. It does not need to be a 50 minute workout every day. As I said before; it is okay do start slowly, just DO it. Do something. Go out for a walk. Take the stairs. Do some yoga while you're brushing your teeth. Everything helps! And day by day, it will be easier to include sports in your daily life (again).


6. Don't change your eating habits too radically.

While it now depends how you are eating in general, I can only suggest you, not to cut out too many things at once. Step by step. Your eating habits will slowly change, and so will your cravings. But if you cut out all of the bread, rice, noodles and chocolate at once, it can become hard to stick to it.
Instead, try to change your meals into healthier meals. For example: Instead of spaghetti (130g raw) with tomato sauce and cheese, you could try cutting down to 70g of spaghetti (raw), adding some fresh tomatoes, zucchini, paprika, whatever you like, and choose a sauce which is not filled with sugar.

If you combine the meals you are used to and you love with things that are healthier for you, you'll slowly start to prefer the healthier options, because you get used to them without the feeling that you have to cut out everything you love.


7. Eat enough - try not to overeat.

Having a mental illness can cause you both to loose your appetite or not feeling full and craving many foods. The problem with this is not only that it's unhealthy for your body, but that you often numb your feelings with food.
Try eating enough every day, even if you don't feel like it. And if you feel like overeating/bingeing, try to think about what you really want right now. It will take some practice, but eventually, it will become easier for you to realize that you are not really craving the whole box of chocolate, but instead you are feeling rejected because your boyfriend cancled your date.

And while trying to eat healthily (and this way, taking care of your body and getting all the nutrition you need), I'd add some treats here and there. Add some chocolate sprinkles to the oatmeal you are eating in the morning. It's okay, as long as you don't feel like you MUST eat it now. And if a binge happened; try not to worry too much about it. Simply try to continue with all of it as if the binge did not happen.

8. If you tend to have binges, try to find out which kind of binges you have.

I, for example, have a sweet tooth and 80% of my binges are focussing on chocolate, cake and stuff like that. If you crave for the same things over and over, there are two possibilities
1. your body is missing some nutrition. If you are craving for chocolate constantly, it could be that you need more magnesium.
2. it's an emotional craving. in this case, the chocolate could mean that you feel rejected and that you are craving for love, affection and intimacy.

I like to take a look at this page: http://www.martinechin.com/3167/food-cravings-and-what-they-mean/
I don't know whether it is really (on a scientific basis) 100% accurate, but my personal experience was that I found this page helpful when dealing with binges.

If you get to the point that food is simply food.. something you can enjoy, something that tasted good, that gives you energy, and you let go of the idea that food will change about anything you feel (anger, fear, sadness etc.), you will eventually stop having those cravings and it'll not only be easier to eat healthy, but it'll also be easier to eat some of the food you really like (in moderation, but more often).

9. Try to eat regularly.

My doctor told me I should try to eat 3 main courses and 2 small courses (like a yogurt, an apple or something). between the main courses shouldn't be more than 6 hours time difference and I should eat breakfast within 2 hours after getting out of bed.

I never liked to have breakfast and wasn't much a fan of this idea, but I must say, it was quite helpful. You tend to feel satisfied through the whole day and the structure gives you more safety. If you are not a fan of preparing meals, try to prepare 2-3 meals at once, so you simply have to make it warm again!


10. Cut out the diet/light products!

Simply because they can trigger the depression (several studies exist for this, I can search for some reliable sources if anybody is interested, I just don't have any links around right now, it was about diet coke and similar drinks) and it messes up your blood sugar.
If they cut out the fat %, they have to add either sugar or sweetener to maintain an acceptable taste. And after they want to keep down the calories, they'll often use sweetener. The same, of course, goes with sugar- reduced things.
To have some low-sugar or low-fat food here and there is okay, but it'll propably satisfy you for a longer time if you choose the full- fat- yogurt; and no risk of falling back into the depression.





I hope those information were helpful for some of you. Please keep in mind that I am not a specialist, just a girl who collected both her own experiences and the once of friends who struggled and/or general stories about weight loss/activity/depression.
I cannot promise you that everything I said is correct and if you are unsure, please search for a reliable source.
Thank you all

Hi Nenshali,
Thanks for this! I'm in my hole right now and have been for a couple of weeks now, so this thread helps a lot! Am slowly climbing out again and aside of going to the gym I've started to become social again. That also is a big thing, going out, being with people, talking about everything and nothing.
Thanks again!
L