Depression and Weight IssuesHave you been diagnosed with depression, are possibly on depression medication, and find it affects your weight loss efforts? Post here for support!
It's pretty difficult to exercise when it takes all your mental strength to make it to the mailbox
I've gotten a Wii Fit, but beyond that, I have no idea what to do about myself. I keep gaining weight. It stinks. I can't run anyway, but the ability to go for a nice walk when it gets sunny out would be awesome. I can't go to school, forget about having a job.
I really, really don't want to have to go back to therapy - it never helped, really it just made me miserable, and not the helpful kind, the "I'm spending all my free time worrying about it" kind. Same way I felt last time I tried to go to school, actually.
Any other ways for a shut-in to get some exercise? I've heard the Wii Fit isn't really that great for weight loss...
Have you tried to order workout videos online? I've been doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, ordered from amazon.com. She uses hand weights, but other than that, there's NOTHING else you need (and you can get those online too probably).
This video has taught me that any movement that gets your heart rate going, even if it's jumping jacks or a simulated jump rope, is GOOD for you, and will help you lose weight. Just a suggestion...
I live in a very cramped apartment, so nothing too flail-y is doable - definitely no jump rope, but hand weights I could definitely work with. (I actually have dumbbells I filched out of the trash...they're in great shape! 3 lbs and 5 lbs.) I've tried yoga DVDs, but there's no way to do yoga in this apartment unless I stack the coffee table on the sofa. (Which I tried, actually, but couldn't get the balance to work out...)
Well, with the jump rope thing...as long as you had space to jump up and down, you'd have room. Don't actually have to have the rope, if you don't have room. In the video we don't use ropes...just move the hands like you've got a rope....
Violet, I am sorry to hear that therapy did not help you & that you don't care to consider it again. Was it perhaps the particular person you worked with? Or was it the kind of therapy? Was it behaviorally oriented?
Because I don't see the weight loss as being such a big thing that needs to be immediately addressed as being unable to leave your apartment, which sounds small & confined. (I can relate, as I live in a three-room apartment in lower Westchester & am looking to buy a two-bedroom co-op, & all I can think of is lots of windows, high ceilings, as many square feet as possible.)
My daughter has agoraphobia and her therapist/psychiatrist was a complete joke. We stopped going and went off meds and her agoraphobia and attacks/hyperventilating came back with a freakin vengeance!!
We went back to the pediatrician and she suggested a new office and we LOVE it. I would definitely try a new office before you write it off as not helpful. Its made a difference for us.
My daughter was on prozac, but it wasn't working for us, so we've just started Celexa yesterday, so the jury's still out on whether its the trick or not. But the new doctor is such a breath of fresh air compared to the horrible place we were going to.
My daughter was out of school for the entire month of February and after trying school last week, we're back out of school for a couple more weeks until the new meds kick in. She was spending the entire time at school trying to hide her hyperventilating instead of paying attention to the teacher. She's a freshman in high school. The new meds have knocked her on her keister, though. This morning, she looks and feels like she was hit by a truck, but slept well for the first time last night in a very long time. No more nightmares, either. We're encouraged.
As for exercise...my daughter takes the dog and her little brother for a walk to the store and back. She's not advanced with the agoraphobia to the point of not being able to leave the house yet, but if we don't get a grip on it soon, she'll be there, as well, I'm sure.
I'm also agoraphobic, and rarely can get out .. never mind walks or exercise outside of any kind.. its really hard for me to want to exercise to begin with, but Ive been doing the dance dance revolution on the wii & its fun and something I can stand doing for 30 mins .. other times I dance to fast beat music
since I am stuck inside, I think its more productive for me to do something I somewhat enjoy otherwise it will just feel like a chore for me & end up quitting
Violet, I am sorry to hear that therapy did not help you & that you don't care to consider it again. Was it perhaps the particular person you worked with? Or was it the kind of therapy? Was it behaviorally oriented?
Because I don't see the weight loss as being such a big thing that needs to be immediately addressed as being unable to leave your apartment, which sounds small & confined. (I can relate, as I live in a three-room apartment in lower Westchester & am looking to buy a two-bedroom co-op, & all I can think of is lots of windows, high ceilings, as many square feet as possible.)
I can go out if there's something I absolutely need to do, but when it comes to exercise or, really, anything that's not absolutely necessary, there's no way I'll be able to make myself do it.
I see this isn't very recent anymore, but I wonder how you are doing?
You might thrive on an exercise bike that is 'parked' in your apartment. In front of the tv is good. I put dvds in for when I ride mine.
The only gym I can afford is the campus gym (husband is a grad student, so what I'd pay per year is what I'd pay per month anywhere else) and since there's no parking I'd have to do the park-and-ride bus. That whole thing kind of terrifies me in that -- besides being afraid, to an extent, of the gym itself -- I also know I'm not at a place yet where I'd actually go work out at the gym if I had to pack into a bus both ways and just spend so much total time on transportation.
My bike, however ... always there. I always wanted a treadmill, but I live on uneven floors where the neighbors would be harrassed by this. My bike is stationary, quiet, constantly beckoning.
I can completely understand agoraphobia--I can fathom being there myself much of the time actually.
I think a treadmill or bike are both good ideas. I wish I had an exercise bike or treadmill hooked up to the TV so that the only way I could watch is when I was moving. LOL--wasn't that on Gilligan's Island??
I also personally like the Free On Demand exercise DVD's available with most cable services. I Shimmy, Bollywood Dance or 30DS any time I like for free.
Last edited by Thighs Be Gone; 04-01-2009 at 08:04 PM.
I've been agoraphobic for the last 3 1/2 years and have gain so much weight from comfort eating and lack of activities. I went to cognitive behavioral therapy for a year. Going to therapy didn't really help me I learnt a few techniques to stop me from having panic attack which was good. I also learnt the only way I would get better was to do something outdoors everyday. It could be something as little as walking downstairs and out the front door standing there for 5 mins then walking back upstairs. Doing it daily really helped and I found I could stay outside longer and walk further and further each time I tried.
The thought of going outside scares me and can bring on massive panic attacks but what is helping me is changing my focus. Instead of stressing about going outside I focus on the positives and think right if I walk to the end of the street and back I'm burning calories, losing weight, getting fresh air and helping me battle agoraphobia. The more I walk the more weight I lose and the better I feel about myself.
For those days when going outside is just too much I got myself a selection of different exercise Dvd's so I don't get bored doing the same one over and over again. I also live in a small apartment and the walls are extra thin but to help me lose weight I got myself a treadmill. So the noise from the treadmill doesn't disturb the people that live below me I use it during the day when most people are at work.
I tell myself everyday Fear isn't an excuse to come to a standstill.
I've never known anyone who is agoraphobic, so please forgive my ignorance. I can't wrap my brain around how a person with this condition would have a weight problem. (Though I could understand possibly anorexia.) Are you saying that you are unable to leave the house to work out but can manage to grocery shop? I don't understand.
I live with other people who take care of the grocery shopping, unfortunately who buy all kinds of terrible stuff that I just can't seem to keep out of. And I order most of my groceries from fresh direct anyway! It's amazing what you can get away with without having to leave your house thanks to the internet.
Agoraphobia sure makes weight loss hard
