Feeling Validated

I came across an article that talked about injuries and dealing with them. The first two paragraphs hit the nail on the head as far as how I am feeling right now. It was absolutely perfect!

“Five years ago, running was my life. It was the perfect package of fitness, friendship and competition, all wrapped up in a shiny coat of endorphins. It was my therapy after the breakup of a four-year relationship and my secret to staying slender, despite a daily ice cream habit. So in 2008, when a string of injuries intruded on my running career, I felt stripped of my identity.

It’s no wonder. Whether they end a professional athletic career or simply disrupt an established exercise routine, injuries like mine have been shown to lower self-esteem, trigger depression and increase risk of further injury.”

You can read the whole article called “Facing Down An Injury” right here.

I like the fact that the article explains the effects that an injury can have on a person physically, mentally and emotionally. It completely validated my feelings, which is a very powerful and liberating thing. Having my feelings validated helped me to feel stronger mentally/emotionally, and made me want to keep moving forward. I plan to do most of the items on the list of 10 things that the author suggested. Making a bucket list will give me goals and things to look forward to that I may have never tried had it not been for my situation.

I have been concerned about my weight, which is totally normal. I had a really close friend tell me that he would probably lay in bed all day and just get up to go to the bathroom. He pointed out that I am swimming and still doing what I can despite being depressed, which is so true! I have to at least give myself some credit for that. Another friend told me that I am in great shape and that I won’t gain 50 pounds from this. It is true. I am still eating healthy and getting a little bit of a workout with my swimming and PT.

Among all of the things I will take away from this, I will be able to share my experience with other people in similar situations. I will be able to help someone else feel better because I have been there. That is powerful. I share my experience in recovery with people whenever I can. Similarly, sharing how I dealt with a major injury may really help someone someday. I am grateful for this. Or I will be more grateful for this once I am better, lets be honest .

Try to get over to the Experience Life website via the link I put above to read this article. Share it with people that could benefit from it. They’ll thank you.

Thanks to Experience Life and to the author, Nicole Radziszewski, for writing such a great and relevant article.

Have a great short week everyone!

Happy Trails!

Stacey