Do you remember that from college psych class?
Here's a quick refresher:
Physiological needs are the most basic followed by safety, love, esteem, and lastly self-actualization. They build up in that order like a pyramid. So the base of it all starts with satisfying physiological needs and you add on the others until you get to the least basic need of self-actualization.
But listen, I'm not trying to give you a psych lesson here. The purpose of all this is that I genuinely believe that a key factor to add to the bunch is endorphins. I know, it sounds silly. But hear me out.
This week, I strayed away from my typical active lifestyle. I only walked and did my situps twice. That's right, twice. And that is all I did when it comes to physical activity. Much difference from my typical schedule. What's my excuse? Well it's a lame one. Life is really busy right now so I couldn't make CrossFit. Then, I got lazy at home and become a couch potato. I know, lame. Not only unhealthy for my body; it was also unhealthy for my mind. And I'm supposed to be AntiUnhealthy!
On Thursday, I noticed myself feeling a little down...a little blue, if you will. This shade of blue I attributed to stress. There are many things going on in life--all good things, but things nonetheless. Then Friday led to even a darker shade of blue. My man-friend noticed I wasn't feeling well and tried to help. But how can anyone help if you don't even know what was wrong? Nothing bad happened. By Saturday evening, the man-friend was finally able to help me get to a happy place and past the self-diagnosed situational depression.
Here's the thing: Depression is a real thing that affects wonderful people every day. However, I am innately too optimistic and "glass-half-ful" to truly suffer from depression. We are all human and we all feel sadness sometimes when life gets a little rough. But one thing I realized through this short course of blue was that I definitely had some sort of situational depression, if that is a real thing. It was uncomfortable and lonely there.
So, I started to analyze the last several days to see what was different that could have sent me down this blue spiral. Nothing bad happened--in fact, only good things happened. However, there was one thing lacking from the previous weeks:
Physical Activity
We all know that physical activity leads to a release of endorphins and these little buggers are basically naturally occurring happy pills. It's basically scientifically impossible for a person with a natural balance of chemicals to not be happy after a surge of endorphins. True story.
In case you ever encounter a situation like this, here are some tips and tricks to help:
1. Go for a short jog
2. Hop on the treadmill
3. Jumprope at home
4. Do some situps and pushups
5. Walk your dog at a brisk pace
6. Go dancing (i'm biased on this one :) )
7. Go to yoga
8. Do some squats and lunges in front of your tv
9. Throw on that old infomerical-bought workout video you haven't used in 5 years
10. Go to your gym of choice (for me, that's CrossFit)
The elation, pride, and satisfaction I feel after something as intense as CrossFit definitely contribute to my success of fulfilling those 5 needs named by Maslow. Dancing and yoga also get me to those 5 needs every single time. Never fails. Those are my "Fix It" workouts.
I challenge you to find that "fix it" workout--that workout that can raise you up out of a visit from situational depression. Also don't forget that watching a funny show or funny videos of cats and dogs on youtube will always succeed at making you smile. Works for me!
**If you are feeling sad for an extended period of time or feel as though you are unable to pick yourself up from that heavy feeling, please ask for help. Ask your best friend, your Mom, your doctor, or whomever you feel closest to. They will not be anything but happy that you reached out. Depression is real and there are many ways to win the battle.
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