Overcoming Obstacles: Working Out Through Chronic Illnesses Including Mental Health Illnesses
Coaching, for me, is about helping others find their motivation, strength, and confidence…or so I thought. When I began this journey, I didn’t realize how deeply coaching could impact several peoples’ lives, struggling through issues that often can’t be seen from the outside. I haven’t experienced these personally, but it became very personal to me when my wife had her chronic urticaria (hives) return full force alongside her thyroid disease. This required her to be on prednisone for about a year. For anyone who isn’t familiar with prednisone, it’s side effects are mood swings, weight gain (fat and water), ‘moon face’ (swelling of the face), and insomnia.
To find any sort of motivation or drive during a time of chronic illness and/or mental health issue can seem daunting at the very least. The days, hours, and especially nights seem longer and more drawn out than usual. I felt helpless watching someone I cared so much for struggle, and there I was, healthy as could be, sitting there wishing I could do more.
Whether you’re covered in massive hives, or you’re staring in the mirror wondering who is staring back at you, I want you to know I’ve created a safe place for you to come for motivation, accountability, and a level of support to get you moving even through the worst of times. I know many people have heard, “Well, if you workout you’ll feel better because endorphins...” and while true, those words can be extremely damaging to someone who wishes they could just get up and walk to the kitchen sink without discomfort or fatigue.
There’s no need to be perfect or stay on a consistent track when you deal with other obstacles in life, but what you can do is have a motivator, a coach, a friend, a partner who can get you further than you’ve been before while working through a tough layer of challenges. That’s my role for you. If you struggle with any conditions linked to chronic illness or mental illness, give yourself a break and be patient. Move when it’s best for you but remember to also push yourself through the times where maybe you just don’t feel like it, but you can.
My wife and I had to decipher between when she could physically workout vs. when she could not because it was too painful – I would check in with her and ask, “Are you ready to workout today or do you want to try to do it tomorrow and we can push in with more effort?” She was going to workout, we just had to be more flexible on when it was going to happen. And this is my intention and approach with the clients I have that do suffer from chronic or mental health illnesses.
Working out heals the soul, and it absolutely heals the mind and body. We can start a small journey that doesn’t have to be some all-star, top notch elite athlete level workout – part of the Mutch Fitness philosophy is to create adaptable workouts for every person no matter their level of fitness or the barriers they face when it comes to working out.