Essay 86: Exercise therapy

We made it to the new year. We’re the lucky ones.
Even if you don’t believe in making resolutions, pause a moment and take a deep breath.
You are alive.
What are you going to do with that life? I plan on enjoying mine.

I went through a few dark months in the second half of 2017. I was feeling depressed, overwhelmed, stretched to my limits, particularly in my mothering. I thought that my daughter’s growing up was to blame, an early case of raging hormones in a 7 year old. Turns out, the hormonal imbalance was all mine and getting back into exercise was the fix.

I’ve always known how good exercise is for me and yet I had let myself fall off the wagon. When my moods deteriorated, I failed to make the connection. It got so bad that I called counselors and was planning on starting therapy in January.
In the meantime, I figured that working out couldn’t hurt and so I resolved to train 4x/week for 20 minutes until my birthday in March and see if it would help. Boy, did it ever! I’ve just completed 8 weeks without missing a session and I have reverted back to a sweet wife and mother; I have regained a cheerful disposition and reclaimed a deep well of patience.
My daughter hadn’t changed, I had. I was anxious and snappy and she was just reacting to my agitation.
Now that I am calm again, she is back to her own sweet self. We have a grand time together and she hasn’t once in the last 8 weeks mentioned wanting someone else as a mother.

Exercise allows me to sweat out all the gunk within, to release the angst and turmoil, to tap into the joy inside me. Suddenly life is exciting again. I have goals and the energy to work towards them.
I’m making plans.

I’m making jokes!

The problem was never with my daughter or life. The problem was that I had stopped exercising. Simple.

Exercise is now and forever more at the top of my list. It is no longer a matter of wanting to do it or not: it is a necessity, a non-negotiable. To me it is medicine and the best there is: free, with a long list of wonderful side effects.

I highly recommend a spoonful a day to keep the doctor away, and hold the gloom at bay. 😉

I’m happy to be back after taking December off. I plan on resuming my once/week posting schedule. Subscribe using the widget below if you wish to be notified when a new essay goes live. Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!