Exercise motivation when depressed - any tips?

[Wonderbug81]

I have bouts of low mood and depression as a result of perimenopause. I'm on HRT but I'm finding that while it's definitely helping, I can be quite up and down week to week depending on natural hormone levels.

I know the things I should be doing - eating well/gut health, sleep and rest and generally I'm fine with these. But I have a busy, long-houred senior new job and the last thing I feel like doing is exercising after work or on weekends, especially if it involves going to the gym. I just want to sit on the sofa and be still.

I'd love any tips for how those of you who have managed to exercise through depression managed it? What motivated you? How did you get started?

Yes a running partner is a good idea. I don't have anyone that springs to mind right now but will have a think about this.

Thank you. Love swimming but (I know this sounds like a copout) it just feels like extra effort on top of the actual exercise at the moment e.g. getting to the pool, getting ready afterwards, driving back. I'll try and work up to it.

Thank you. I know this must sound terrible but yes I have free weights at home - even then I struggle to just get on and do it.

I think it's the getting started that's really hard, there's just no motivation to begin at the moment. Once I start it's usually easier to keep going.

With free weights or any at home exercise, do it in pockets of time, so some squats and lunges while the kettle boils, do some bicep curls while you are on the phone. Get up and walk up and down stairs when an advert comes on.

have you heard of behavioural activation? It’s all about breaking the cycle of low mood where you feel crap, you stop doing things and then you feel worse and so the cycle continues. Behavioural activation is all about not waiting for motivation or feeling better, it won’t happen. But instead scheduling in activities that support your values and what you want from life and thinking about low stakes activities scheduled in in categories like closeness, achievement and enjoyment. By scheduling it in and doing as much as possible to make sure it happens you can start to break the cycle. It’s the same with exercise, schedule it in, agree with yourself to do a minute of something and then see how you feel. As you say; just get started.

I have never heard of behavioural activation. I find it really helpful to understand the science behind why we do what we do. I've actuallu just managed 20 mins of exercise at home (telling myself I'd do 5 minutes. I'm off down a rabbit hole to find out more about B.A now. Thank you!

Quick update. I've managed three exercise sessions this week (at home, mix of YouTube videos and free weights).

Thank you all for your help and advice. Getting started was the hardest part, really want to keep going.

That’s brilliant! Three is amazing, keep scheduling it and turning up for it no matter how you feel. Build the pattern and the habit, if you stop after five minutes you did five minutes more than expected.

make it as easy as possible to stick to, remind yourself of this feeling of having achieved what you set out to and remind yourself of it. We have tricky brains that will remind us happily if failure and doom and gloom but not of the times we succeed and things go right.

Do you like reading?
I have managed to get myself out twice this week on my own as running partner was away. Usually I just wouldn’t do anything. This time I put an earphone in (I only wear one so I can still hear traffic) set audible going and set off with a plan to run as slow as I wanted for as long as I felt like being out. I let myself walk when I wanted and just generally took my own sweet time. I actually enjoyed most of it. And definitely felt better by the end.