Mental Health & Physical Health.

Yes definitely.
This year I'm planning on tackling them both head on. (long-term depression sufferer here)
I've figured that I only do well with the physical sides when my mental health is good. So mental health is my priority.

So when I start focusing on the physical side, I set my standard goals (1250cals/day) and have a failsafe. Which is basically eating at maintenance. It just gives my mental health the break but also keeps me on my fitness journey without feeling like I'm starting again.

Ita a bit hard to juggle sometimes if you don't notice the mental side slipping but if you know your symptoms well enough you can sort it before it goes too far.

I hope this makes sense haha
It's a lot simpler than it sounds.
The easiest way to put it is, start fitness goals but take a break (not quit) when your mental health needs it.

shellyburger wrote: »

Posting this here cause I’m hoping someone has some advice or has also experienced something similar.

I feel like anytime I get my physical health under control my mental health takes a hit and vice versa. I’ve been in a weird yo-yo between the two for about five years now and cannot seem to figure out how to conquer both simultaneously.

I put a lot of time and effort into my mental well-being in 2020, so I feel that I am very strong there. But I am genuinely concerned that by moving some of my attention to my physical health (which definitely needs some attention) I’m risking my mental stability.

Anyone else feel this way or have advice?

How exactly is giving some attention to your physical wellbeing impacting your mental health? For myself, the two go hand in hand. Eating well makes me feel good and regular exercise helps a lot with stress management and my generalized anxiety. The only time I've really had issues with my mental health while working on my physical health was when I was trying to do too much and be too aggressive.

I think theyre related but for different people, perhaps differently.

when I was in a miserable marriage, and life was just kind of crap, I hyper focused on diet and exercise and weight loss. I was at a horrible place in my mind, but letting the OCD take over for at least those 2 facets, had am amazing result (130 pound weight loss)

fast forward 5 years, I'm in a WONDERFUL marriage, less stress, good place financially. And have gotten fat and happy with a 50 pound weight gain. But the weight gain aggravated my depression and anxiety over the past year and made be hardly able to function beyond the things I HAD to do on a daily basis (make bed. take care of livestock. etc)

cant win for losing LOL

I began therapy again a few months ago, and although its not focused on any one thing, I did find it helped to pull me out of my 'funk' so to speak. I had tried a couple of different medications and neither did anything at all. so, I do believe it is the therapy that is helping me, and helping me get back on track.

I'm hoping that getting both on the same track, will last long term and help me get back to the person I know I am.

shellyburger wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

shellyburger wrote: »

Posting this here cause I’m hoping someone has some advice or has also experienced something similar.

I feel like anytime I get my physical health under control my mental health takes a hit and vice versa. I’ve been in a weird yo-yo between the two for about five years now and cannot seem to figure out how to conquer both simultaneously.

I put a lot of time and effort into my mental well-being in 2020, so I feel that I am very strong there. But I am genuinely concerned that by moving some of my attention to my physical health (which definitely needs some attention) I’m risking my mental stability.

Anyone else feel this way or have advice?

How exactly is giving some attention to your physical wellbeing impacting your mental health? For myself, the two go hand in hand. Eating well makes me feel good and regular exercise helps a lot with stress management and my generalized anxiety. The only time I've really had issues with my mental health while working on my physical health was when I was trying to do too much and be too aggressive.

For myself, my mental health struggles manifest primarily as lethargy & food has been a method of self soothing for as long as I can remember. So when my mental health declines, my health habits tend to go out the window if that makes sense?

All the times in my life when my physical health has been at its peak, my mental health has been at its worst. I tend to have a singular minded focus and go after physical goals at the detriment to everything else (ex, when I’m eating healthy I get obsessive over it and refuse to go to restaurants with friends so then lose out on social life) things like that.

When my mental is at its best, I tend to just let me body do whatever my mind deems is right in the moment. So that tends to be a more sedentary life with more comfort food for example. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I’ve never experienced both my mental health & physical health being positive at the same time so I struggle to imagine the two working simultaneously in my favor.

What you need to work on is using food for self-soothing. In other words, you need to work on your mental health some more, and that will help you with your physical health. Eating too much can cause lethargy, so you may be in a negative feedback loop (eating to self-soothe lethargy, which makes you lethargic so you eat more to soothe). You probably also need to work on moderating things and not going all-or-nothing.

I'm going to disagree with you when you say that your mental health is at its best when you do whatever your mind deems right at the moment. I think that's when you're at your most complacent staying within your comfort zone, which is not good for mental or physical health.

You need to challenge yourself to become healthier both mentally and physically. The real challenge for you at this point is do work on doing it a little at a time so you don't crash and burn.

Here is a post I shared this spring.

Target balance.

Fulcrum - the point on which a lever rests or is supported and on which it pivots

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
Heat always flows from hot to cold until equilibrium is reached.

The earth rotates around the sun. The earth rotates at just the right speed to not let it fly off into outer space or crash into the sun. If our orbit was just slightly closer we would burn. If just slightly further we would freeze.

There is a balance to things. Water cycle, environmental cycle, prey and predators all in a balance.

Why are we surprised when we have problems when we are out of balance. Mind Body and Soul. Talent, Ability and Heart. Food Sleep and Exercise.

Thankfully the human body is designed in order to operate in a sweet spot with a bit more leeway than the orbit of the earth. But make no Mistake too much of anything, even water, will kill you or seriously injure you.

So because of that leeway in our humanity there is no one right way to be healthy. BUT there are many wrong ways. So instead of a bunch of do's and don'ts let talk about health in a balance type way. Is your life in balance? Faith, Family, Finance, Fitness, Friends there are many other F's here but remember you are looking to balance Body, Mind and Inner person. In your day can you say you fed each of these? Our attitude towards health and fitness is found in our understanding of this balance.

- Too selfish and you lose momentum when you reach your goal.
- Being healthy for "someone else" and when that motivator stops motivating you, so do you.

Eating to fuel the body and the mind and our emotions requires good food, nutrient rich food and yummy food. Food you enjoy eating. Balance it and eating will be beneficial and fun. Exercise to be able to do the things you love for as long as your are given. Aesthetics are great, but beauty fades. Athletic achievements are glorious but who was the captain of the team that won the championship in 1962? Athletic glory fades. Balance your fitness for performance, appearance and longevity and you will be healthy and happy for as long as you are able.

In summary eat balanced meals, whole foods, nutrients, portion sizes and taste. Exercise your whole body. Balance yourself strong core, back, legs arms etc. This improves your actual balance. Change up your routines and cardio. Have your maintenance routines but add alternatives to keep balance. Spend time with family and friends. Work and play in moderation. Enough to be successful and have joy but not too much to ruin it. Enrich your mind and feed your soul. Seek new things to learn and search out answers too big questions.

Because the balance fact we don't like to remember is, from dust we came and to dust we return. Living well requires balance.

Interesting. When my mental health is low and I'm struggling more than usual, it is directly reflected with my physical health. That will decline right along with my mental health. If I can focus on getting my physical health sorted and on track, I find that my mental health rises right along with it. And oftentimes, for me anyway, it seems easier to control my physical being than my mental 🙃

shellyburger wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

shellyburger wrote: »

Posting this here cause I’m hoping someone has some advice or has also experienced something similar.

I feel like anytime I get my physical health under control my mental health takes a hit and vice versa. I’ve been in a weird yo-yo between the two for about five years now and cannot seem to figure out how to conquer both simultaneously.

I put a lot of time and effort into my mental well-being in 2020, so I feel that I am very strong there. But I am genuinely concerned that by moving some of my attention to my physical health (which definitely needs some attention) I’m risking my mental stability.

Anyone else feel this way or have advice?

How exactly is giving some attention to your physical wellbeing impacting your mental health? For myself, the two go hand in hand. Eating well makes me feel good and regular exercise helps a lot with stress management and my generalized anxiety. The only time I've really had issues with my mental health while working on my physical health was when I was trying to do too much and be too aggressive.

For myself, my mental health struggles manifest primarily as lethargy & food has been a method of self soothing for as long as I can remember. So when my mental health declines, my health habits tend to go out the window if that makes sense?

All the times in my life when my physical health has been at its peak, my mental health has been at its worst. I tend to have a singular minded focus and go after physical goals at the detriment to everything else (ex, when I’m eating healthy I get obsessive over it and refuse to go to restaurants with friends so then lose out on social life) things like that.

When my mental is at its best, I tend to just let me body do whatever my mind deems is right in the moment. So that tends to be a more sedentary life with more comfort food for example. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I’ve never experienced both my mental health & physical health being positive at the same time so I struggle to imagine the two working simultaneously in my favor.

Interesting thread. There is a lot to unpack here.

What about when you were younger? 10 to 14,15 years of age?