Benefits of Exercise - sometimes you need more

Hey everyone

We all know that exercise is great for a health:
helps with weight management
can help with aging
help reverse medical concerns such as high blood pressure, etc
help with positive attitude

But sometimes that may not be enough.  It is about to get heavy but I feel that I need to talk about it and let you all know it is okay. As athletes sometimes it is incredibly hard for us to reach out for help or even admit that we need help.

I think most people that know me will confirm that I am pretty a strong person mentally - you have to have a certain level of mental fortitude to do long distance endurance sports.

I have always turned to exercise when things have gotten tough - it has been a solace and a panacea - when Blue was killed while it was incredibly hard to race the next day it also helped.  I know some people did not understand how can we were able to get up and race but Joe and I both knew that Blue loved to run and play so it seemed like the right thing to do to honour him and his memory.  It was not easy but I know it did help and it was our tribute to him.

Over the last 18 months life has been throwing curve balls at me constantly and I have been just putting my head down, accepting and marching along. On days when it has seemed really  hard I have been going for a run /ride - it has always helped but this time it is not enough.  I struggle with sleep and feel anxious most of the time and no matter how much I run/ ride/ or swim I am still struggling.  It is getting harder every day to keep the smile on and act like "I am living the dream".

It came to a head after doing a fantastic run with the clinic and while changing after I sat in the change room and started to cry there was no reason to cry but I just felt so sad and yet I had just finished an amazing run in a beautiful city with great people.  I shook it off after a few minutes but it made me realize I am not coping and I need help.

So what to do - well I have done the unprecedented step of reaching out to seeing a Councillor among some other things which has been hard to do but necessary.    I am not asking for anyone to do anything or try to "fix" me.  Just understand I may be a little more quiet on that ride or run and I guess please encourage me to come out for the workouts as we all know it will help along with the other things and finally just being there will help.   I may not be up to leading the charge all the time right now - so please feel free to take charge of the adventure train - I may just take a seat and try and enjoy the ride while I work through everything.

|It is not easy to acknowledge that you need help and I am here to say it is ok.  The world has not ended and I am not a social outcast because I need some support to get through all this.  So if you are struggling and the workouts are not enough it is okay to reach out and get some help.  Just DO IT.

Thanks for listening
Peace Out Shaun

Comments

Anonymous said…
Asking for help is so hard and letting those around you know is even harder. You are an amazing woman - stand proud.

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