The gym is a comfort for many, including me. Ever since I started my fitness journey, I was hooked. The process of bettering yourself and gaining strength that you never thought possible has always motivated me to continue. But, when an anxiety attack hits, this all goes out the window.
When going through an anxiety episode, finding the stamina to keep a healthy routine is like pulling teeth. Anxiety could completely knock you down and make it hard to get through the tasks that you usually have no problem going through every day. And recently, for me, this happened with keeping up my fitness routine.
Ever since I started my fitness journey, I never took breaks. Even when I had COVID-19, I was working out in my isolation dorm, so I was on a pretty tight routine. It remained this way until three weeks ago when I started having a severe anxiety episode that took me for a loop.
Everyone’s anxiety is different, but for me, I get nauseous and cannot eat. With a lack of appetite and not getting the nutrition my body needed, I had to make the decision to step back from the gym. This was rough for me to come to terms with.
Even though the decision was the right thing to do, I initially was beating myself up over it. I was more worried about losing progress than actually getting back on track mentally. Many people who are into fitness struggle with this and put their physical needs over their mental ones. I knew I had to reevaluate the situation because this negative outlook was not helping me heal. In fact, it was making me regress.
The anxiety and nausea lasted two weeks, which meant a two week break. During this time, I prioritized resting and getting myself to eat whenever I felt stable. I was weak during this time and ended up losing around seven pounds. I felt and honestly still feel defeated by this.
I also took a bit of a step back academically and stopped beating myself up over deadlines and homework. This break, even though dreaded, was something I have needed for a long time and did not even know.
Fast forward to now, my appetite is back and I feel a lot more calm. With that, I am back at the gym and am grateful for the break. It honestly made me miss going to the gym more and made my love for it grow stronger. I am lifting lighter right now and building my way back up as we speak. Because I did lose some weight in a short amount of time, I am listening to my body and am making sure I do not overdo it in my workouts.
Mental health is so important. If it means dropping the things you enjoy temporarily to build your way back up, then so be it. The gym will be waiting for you after you recover anyway. Put yourself first.