[spiritedsummer]

How does everyone get themselves motivated to get up and go?

I suffer with depression and psychosis so am on a ton of pills which have all contributed to massive weight gain (doctor confirmed its the tablets, not me so much) Anyway, I know exercise is meant to help with positive mood etc and will obviously help alleviate some of the weight gain but I struggle just to get myself up with the momentum to just do it. I have bought fitness mags, read blogs and obviously everything that's on here and even made myself a little fitness diary but nothing seems to help get me moving. Does anyone else have any advice or similar problems?

Thank you all in advance, I'm pretty desperate x

[Sabertooth]

Is there anyone you could exercise with? I find having someone else to meet at the gym really helps because I'd be letting them down if I didn't turn up. Or maybe just buying a gym membership might help - if you pay per session there's no motivation but if you've paid upfront then you're wasting money by not going.

Also, is there any sport that you enjoy? Going to the gym can be extremely boring for some people whereas exercising while playing a favorite sport can be a lot easier.

Another thing that might be available in your area; the mental health charity Mind sometimes runs various courses, the one in my area recently did a badminton course which was free and really good fun as well as being good exercise so maybe take a look at that.



ps. I know what you mean about weight gain on those pills, I put on 50lbs myself on olanzapine, it really really does suck. You have my full sympathy.

[spiritedsummer]

Thank you very much for your reply. No-one around is available to exercise with me which is a bit of a pain. My brother (who is 16, I'm 25) sometimes helps out but he is super fit and gets a little impatient as I'm so unfit and hold him back. However the little we do together is always very helpful.

I'm really up for trying running. Hoping to get to a half decent level i.e. Not just waddling out of breath before maybe joining a running club. But not sure about other clubs, will look in local paper. Sadly am not working because of my illness so can't afford a gym membership but otherwise a good idea. Will defo look into Mind in my area!

Thank you so much for your response. Was half expecting negative comments. The pills are naff, been on quetiapine and a few others and put on 3 stone since starting them in January yet am not doing anything different than before. It's demotivating in itself!

[Mad Cat Lady]

Do you absolutely have to take the pills? I've known people with depression who've taken pills for it and run into problems with them, such as terrible side effects so they've stopped taking them and found other ways of dealing with the depression. I've heard that these pills have a very high relapse rate as well so you might have to find alternative therapies anyway. If you stopped taking them (SAFELY of course) then think how much your confidence would boost when/if the weight starts shedding much more easily. One of the best ways of dealing with depression is support from others who can listen to you and spend time with you. Maybe you could join a yoga class or something and make some friends there who can not only make you feel better but also help you to lose weight with their support. I can understand I've completely ignored the psychosis part because I don't really know much about it, but perhaps getting rid of the depression will get rid of the psychosis too and general negative cognitions and emotions.

Also PM me if you ever just need someone to listen to you and support you, I'll always reply good luck x

[Sabertooth]

(Original post by spiritedsummer)
Thank you very much for your reply. No-one around is available to exercise with me which is a bit of a pain. My brother (who is 16, I'm 25) sometimes helps out but he is super fit and gets a little impatient as I'm so unfit and hold him back. However the little we do together is always very helpful.

I'm really up for trying running. Hoping to get to a half decent level i.e. Not just waddling out of breath before maybe joining a running club. But not sure about other clubs, will look in local paper. Sadly am not working because of my illness so can't afford a gym membership but otherwise a good idea. Will defo look into Mind in my area!

Thank you so much for your response. Was half expecting negative comments. The pills are naff, been on quetiapine and a few others and put on 3 stone since starting them in January yet am not doing anything different than before. It's demotivating in itself!

Have you spoken to your CPN or GP about needing to lose weight? I know that in some cases the NHS will pay for gym membership for people who need to lose weight so perhaps you could ask about that?

It's a shame about your brother being much fitter than you. But the running sounds like a good idea. You could try the NHS couch to 5k plan, where you gradually increase your running over a period of weeks until you can run 5k at once. It's quite good I did it to get my fitness up a bit and all you need is an mp3 player. You download the tracks from the internet and it's free.



Ah yeah quetiapine is pretty bad for weight gain too (another 30lbs on that one ) even without changing diet or activity levels. It's truly ridiculous. If you ever need support mental health wise there's a thread in the mental health section of tsr for people with mental health conditions to offer each other support. You might also want to try asking there as well perhaps someone else can be helpful.

[spiritedsummer]

Mad Cat Lady - yes pills are imperative. The level I'm at is too extreme to be dealt with without them. Wont go into detail as my life is a bit kamikaze right now, but basically my brain is rarely under my control :-( doc and I still working on the right dosage to get me stable before I can start any counselling. But thank you for your comment, I'll defo look into classes etc. it seems like a good idea and I have a leisure centre nearby. Bit wary of being the least fittest there however!

Have been on the mental health thread, but yes I will be a bit more involved as it seems like a good idea for support. I spoke to the doc about my weight gain and he said that it's typical with all that I'm taking. He is just wary of me doing too much as it can trigger episodes. Just think I need to do something as I'm fed up of being wobbly!

[Mad Cat Lady]

(Original post by spiritedsummer)
Mad Cat Lady - yes pills are imperative. The level I'm at is too extreme to be dealt with without them. Wont go into detail as my life is a bit kamikaze right now, but basically my brain is rarely under my control :-( doc and I still working on the right dosage to get me stable before I can start any counselling. But thank you for your comment, I'll defo look into classes etc. it seems like a good idea and I have a leisure centre nearby. Bit wary of being the least fittest there however!

Have been on the mental health thread, but yes I will be a bit more involved as it seems like a good idea for support. I spoke to the doc about my weight gain and he said that it's typical with all that I'm taking. He is just wary of me doing too much as it can trigger episodes. Just think I need to do something as I'm fed up of being wobbly!

Just to say, I very much doubt you'll be the least fit person there! People go to sports centres to lose weight in most cases afterall and no one judges less fit people attempting to get fit anyway, it's quite honourable stay strong, you can get through this