To want to get gym membership on the NHS

[lucyellensmum]

Our local swimming pool does GP reffered memberships and fitness programs. I suffer with depression and anxiety - i used to love the gym but i cannot afford it or justify the time away from DD. If i could get this at a reduced rate i could ask my mum to have DD for a couple of hours a week just so i could get back on track - i want to come off of ADs but cant do so without an outlet. Has anyone any experience of this?

It makes it into an event though doesn't it,going to the gym,exchanging pleasantries with people, seeing staff and so on. That is a good thing for depressed folk in itself. A million times better than shuffling around shops which seems to be UK's number one leezher activity these days.

lifestyle management is considered an essential in coping with bipolar disorder

exercise is a big part of that

also a side effect of a lot of psych drugs is weight gain

so you could argue that prescribing exercise should by rights go alongside

zippi, do you have any links to bi polar websites? I often think i might be ever so slightly - but i am aware that this is a serious condition, can you get it in degrees?

Moondog? are you suggesting i have to exchange pleasantries??? uhhhhggghh

when mnhq thought they would do loinks for mental health i spent agrs giving them loads of links

you could try mdf here

or mind

yes you can have degrees i guess and you can also have different kinds of bipolarness

cycles vary

there are also some other disorders which are slightly controversial like o ffs i have forgotten the name my memory is really bad at the mo i have the concentration and recall of a gnat

i should know this as i was diagnosed with it at one point..

a good book to read is touched with fire kay redfield jamison

borderline personality disorder i think

Just fyi, I had an entirely private medical insurance for many years. It paid up to 500 pounds a year towards gym membership.

Interesting, eh, sceptics?!

and borderline personality disorder is a shite name...how to invite discrimination and stigma

yeah well clearly they know how to save their money dont they these private insurance cos

Just a thought, LEM, but do you know anyone doing the Race for LIfe this summer? I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's a huge cancer fundraiser, women-only (and some quite little girls too!).

Basically, you sign up to walk/run/waddle 5 km for charity, and there is a really good, structured training programme that starts with something like 1 minute run, 1 minute walk, and builds up (if you want to) to 15 or 30 minutes' running.

A whole bunch of parents from my kids' school trained for it last year, including some very Unfit Mothers. I wondered if it would suit your need for something structured and a specific goal (so that it can't always be put off till next week).

Won't put you off by posting pictures of me mid-run, though...

puss, thats spooky, my last (ish) post was about me doing the race for life a few years ago - i couldnt face it this year, but would be a good thing to aim for next year maybe

ooh! I had thought about Race for Life for you too!

I am doing it next year, currently pregnant so am skiving this year .

If I remember I will pester you next feb when registration starts.

to be quite honest? you need to get out and exercise without expecting someone else to pay for it. If its that important get a job and pay for it???????

Yes! Debilitating depression? You just need to get a job and stop moping about.

LEM, in answer to your earlier question, there is a disorder called bipolar type 2, which is less extreme in its up & downs than bipolar 1, which is the one most people know.
ezinearticles.com/?Bipolar-Type-2-And-Type-1---What-Is-The-Difference?&id=813439

lemonstartree - thankyou for your well thought out and considered response - yes, very helpful . Oh my God, ive just looked at your profile, you are a GP??? God help anyone with depression who comes to see you then. You should know better . A friend of mine is a GP, she doesnt know about my problems, but i have heard her moan about her patients in a similar way - encouraging isn't it.

Puss, interestingly when i did the race for life before, i had been running for a bit before i took up their training scheme (i was even motivated enough to organise a group of girls from work into a team, i ruled their training sessions like a dragon!) I found the whole stop start thing counterproductive. I had been used to staggering around the woods after DP, it was keep up or get left behind. Luckily i had my dog too look after me

I'm not going to let all the negative and narrow minded comments put me off, i will find out for the scheme, if i'm eligible i will take advantage of it - you could look at it as an investment for the economy, it will hopefully get me off of ADs and off of my lazy fat unmotivated arse out into the job market, even though i already have a job as a SAHM.

my whole idea for starting this thread was - look, isnt this cool, there is some positive help out there, i honestly wasn't expecting any negative answers - hey ho

Thankyou to everyone who has encouraged me - it has meant a lot.

I am quite shocked by some of the harsh replies, but I tink, that those people may just well be ever so slightly clueless aboiut things like depression and probably other mental illnesses....it's funny really that people don't have a problem with medication being prescribed...again, ignorance probably, i.e. people may well not realise just how expensive drugs often are...it would probablyt save money in the long term if things like exercise would be prescribed...

however, in the case that LEM can't get to the gym....how about DVD's/weight training at home and stuff...

Sorry-didn't mean to be harsh. A brisk walk is far better than the gym IMO. I have just been for one-the weather is great-all the blossom out-miles better than a sweaty gym!

one advantage of a gym is that it helps in social isolation which is my problem and is structured which is another thing i struggle with

also weight resistance is good and much more difficult to do on your own in an improvised way

the discipline of a gym environment is good for plotting progress and it is lack of progress which can be demotivating

when you dont suffer from mental illnes im sure it is dificult to understand the frustrations and difficulties faced...it is hard work surviving never mind getting told to pull yourself together and get a job or whatever

i am shocked at lemonstartree surely she isnt a gp...it is that kind of attitude that makes it hard to ademit you have problems

no wonder so many people wont consult gps

i dont have any medical contacts because they are mainly ime just as crap...psychiatrists have the same attitude no social skills

Alternatives to the gym are walking, running and aerobics, these are all free. It's a bit much to expect the nhs to pay as I think they only do it for overweight people so that they can exercise safely.
There's not enough money for decent maternity services and cancer wards and depression will never rank highly on a free health service, rightly or wrongly.

I would like to add that I thought I was on the only page of the thread.... and now realise there are 8 so apologies if i've said anything out of turn.

The problem is i think: people are pretty ignorant about how debilitating depression is. It is an ILLNESS and anyone can get it, just like diabetes. Just because we do not fully understand the workings of the brain we just assume that its "all in the mind" well yes, just the same as hepatitis is all in the liver!! Why, WHY does mental health have to be at the bottom of the pile? Is it one of those things that people think they can sweep under the carpet. I feel very strongly about this. My father, having worked all his life paying his taxes and thinking the country would grind to a halt if he had a day off, developed alzheimers - the care he received was something that would be considered neglectful if i treated my dog that way. Do you think he should have just "gone for a walk"? To exorcise his demons in the early stages of the disease. The cold reality is DEPRESSION KILLS. You only have to look on the feeling depressed section of this forum to see how it cripples otherwise capable mothers and fathers alike. But i guess they should just get off their arses and sort themselves out and stop being a drain on the health service .

Yes the NHS is overstretched, so maybe they should tell all the fat bastards to get themselves off for a walk instead of giving them free exercise programs. Perhaps smokers who develop lung cancer should be left to drown in their own lungs - how far do you want to take it?? Diabetics expected to pay for their insulin because some forms of diabetes can be controlled with diet and exercise, hmmm, so long as the "tax payer" doesnt have to pay....

[exasperated]

I personally don't hink the NHS should pay out for most of what you have mentioned above.

I suffer from stress becasue I work hard and struggle to keep on top of my household chores.
Maybe the NHS will provide me with a cleaner once a week to help me reduce my stress levels!

Sometimes people have to be resposible for their own health.

surely going to a gym is being responsible

people really have no idea