Motivation vs. Depression

i get you.

i struggle with these things too. the thing is, i KNOW if i get out of bed and exercise then i will feel better. sometimes i just can't because it's too overwhelming. but it got easier when i shifted my thinking. instead of thinking of the exercise as something i should do i started thinking of it as my selfish time. the one time of day where i can block out everything else and do something that is really only for me. headphones in and music loud.

i also have tried to shift some of my depression and anxiety into anger, which sounds counter-intuitive, but i don't really get mad. if someone steps on me i blame myself get sad instead. so turning some of those emotions outwards when it's justified is helpful. and i run faster mad than sad for sure.

you can also break it into increments. tell yourself you don't have to run (just as an example) you just have to get out of bed, and if you can do that, you just have to get dressed, then maybe you just have to walk to the end of the drive, if you can do that, you can run for a minute (you can do anything for 60 seconds is a big mantra for me), etc. once i get started i almost always reach my goal for the day.

all that being said, i believe that talk therapy, with the right person, can benefit everyone. another selfish thing you can do just for you.

I absolutely agree with the above... I've had plenty of days where the motivation came from the getting up and doing, not the other way around. Sometimes when I really don't want to do anything I'll tell myself I'll just walk instead of run. Or I'll just go out for 10-15 minutes instead of 30. Or I'll get on the bike but I'll just go really slow instead of pushing myself. 90% of the time once I get started, THEN I start feeling like doing it and I end up with the good workout that I thought I didn't want to do. It doesn't always work, but almost always, and I figure even if I occasionally quit after the half-hearted lazy version, at least I've done something, which is a lot better than the nothing I would've done if I stayed in bed.

sometimes, i literally roll off the bed/couch.
also having a dog is nice because she makes me get outside at least for potty breaks

I had severe panic disorder and I'm 90% better now I thought it would never happen I got out and got into a routine like another person said here I had to fake it until I made it I was bad unemployed and I gained 60lbs I would cry all day I thought I was dying I went to the mental hospital to try and see if I needed to be checked in I felt so out of control I came close to calling an ambulance to take me late one night I was so miserable and my racing mind became so unbearable then I contacted my aunt to see if I could go work with her I didn't get paid much but it wasn't about the money it was about keeping my mind busy and it worked I gradually got better I went from having panicked attacks all day every day to having them maybe one a day then 3x a week then once a week then once a month then I got a real job and had them once every 90 days then only during certain stressfulsituations now I am happy to report I haven't had a panic attack in over two years