Commentary from Published March 24, 2016
I’ve done the depression and exercise theme before, but it was an early strip and I used symbolism — a big black rock holding down a person when told to exercise. I got a bit of heat from that because people were suggesting that I was saying that exercise was no good for depression when really I wanted to say was depression was no good for exercise. So in this strip I made it a little more clear what the problem was, and I think it hit the mark better.
This strip I did after a week forced vacation I had because of influenza. I can see the art is a little shaky because of it, and I spent a long time on that first panel and it still doesn’t look right to me. The Nope Door returns, it wasn’t in the script but a last minute addition. In the third panel I wanted to give the Nope Door more dialogue but it was distracting and looked more like graffiti than anything. I’m starting to find myself annoyed with this character’s hair, it looks like a bug or a Christmas tree from the back. Maybe I’ll give her a haircut, if I can find a way to tie haircuts and depression together.
This strip I did after a week forced vacation I had because of influenza. I can see the art is a little shaky because of it, and I spent a long time on that first panel and it still doesn’t look right to me. The Nope Door returns, it wasn’t in the script but a last minute addition. In the third panel I wanted to give the Nope Door more dialogue but it was distracting and looked more like graffiti than anything. I’m starting to find myself annoyed with this character’s hair, it looks like a bug or a Christmas tree from the back. Maybe I’ll give her a haircut, if I can find a way to tie haircuts and depression together.
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Yes, this.
Once again, you’ve hit the nail on the head.
So true.
To be able to explain myself to my family and friends with a comic is something I’ll never be able to thank you enough for. =)
Yeah, shit. I go through this all the time, every day. Spot on, Clay.
Story of my life.
Why im not in shape….
That “Door of Nope” really resonated with me.
The Nope Door is a recurring character.
That is me many times over
You know, maybe I won’t skip cardio today in the end.
Tom Meer this is me…..
Daily
I’ve been doing exercise quite a lot for the past two months. I know it’s said to be good for my depression but so far I haven’t noticed any positive effect. However, it’s easier to dodge the dreaded question ‘How have you been?’ by answering ‘Working out’ – nobody suspects a thing.
I’m with you on this one. But I went on “holiday” and now I find myself facing that door again. Supposed to start today and all. It was a miracle I got out of bed.
Yup
^^too real
Absolutely. With postpartum depression, there’s the added burden of finding time to do things like exercise that are healthy and helpful while balancing the needs of a baby and family. PLUS the guilt of doing something for me when I could be cuddling the baby.
This may or may not be helpful:
I own a reclining exercise bike. I have noticed that if I could get out of bed at all, I could get on that bike, in my depressed pajamas, with a depressed blanket on, and sit there and cry if I had to, and make that front wheel go around. And hey, after that I could at least poop. And I think that cumulatively it did help me dig a little deeper and find a little more energy than I had before. When I wasn’t all the way down in the pit to begin with, there was a definite improvement: I could feel my circulatory system pick up and my brain fog clear a little.
I think it worked because if you have a disease that wants you flat on the floor, semi-reclining with your legs out in front of you may be close enough. Also I could work the thing while hugging myself.
Now I have joint issues, though.
So very true.
Yesterday the doctor told me I have stage 1 mild COPD on top of all my other illnesses and BP/BPD and she gave me a list of things to start. One of them was to get on my excerise bike and do two 5 minute sessions and I was like okay. All I am going to say is that I have thought about it.
Nope Door is exactly why I have an indoor elliptical. Been using it four times a week for maybe two years now. No marked improvement. Every time I get on it, I’m filled with hate and rage at the pointlessness. But maybe it’s helping me lie better because other people think I’m doing sooo fucking well. What a joke.
Yep. There is someone I work with who has cancer, and I envy her. They surround her to support her and comfort her because it’s so hard. I get very little, if any, of that, despite the fact that I spend almost as much time in excruciating pain and wanting to die. Why? Because I’m succeeding at my job so that means I must be perfectly okay.
At least if you make it to doing the exercise, whatever it may be, you’re at least doing something, and you made it past the nope door…. and that is something to feel “good” about. I don’t think the exercise is what helps. It’s the getting past the door that is the big step. Sometimes I make it out, sometimes I don’t. I like it when I do.
One of the problems with depression is that there is no universal cure. I found that it was usually a bit better when I was busy at manual labour jobs, but I don’t know whether it was because I was getting a lot of exercise or because I was able to focus on immediate, concrete tasks that I knew I could complete. It helped that some of the superivsors recognized my ability to handle tasks that involved planning, co-ordination, and adaptability, so they stopped putting me on tasks that involved mindless repetition.
I’m running against the pack here. I have depression, and exercise. I don’t enjoy it though.
I don’t think that’s running against the pack — the idea is not that depressed people don’t exercise but being depressed makes it more difficult to.
For sure; I mean though that while I don’t have a problem exercising, I can’t seem to enjoy doing it, and it doesn’t have the “feel good factor” that some people in the world seem to suggest it will have. And don’t worry, the “running against the pact” was a bit of a pun.
A way regular exercise can help, besides mood: Increases brain derived neurotrophic factor. What that basically means is it can help ward off cognitive decline. It helps with blood flow to the brain , which someone already mentioned. But also, it helps your body more effectively use carbs, fat, and protein…and effective use of carbs is critical for brain function. Sorry if this seems too technical. The point is, you’re still doing something good for yourself, even if it doesn’t improve your mood. So don’t give it up! But I certainly understand the nope door.
Everyone knows exercise is good for you, but understanding the value of exercise is not the problem here. This is what I think some people don’t understand – that telling someone how good something is for them does nothing for their energy level or motivation which is the problem. It can, however, make them feel worse through their guilt or helplessness.
I know what you are saying! I wrote all that mess above, and yet I still have a lot of days when getting out of bed is the victory of the day. Often, FORGET about exercising! Trust me, that guilt hits hard. Been dealing with it for most of the last 25 years (most of my life)! I just try to be kind to myself and keep trying. Many of us put on a facade that everything is okay when it is REALLY NOT okay. I think (and i could be wrong, just an opinion here) it works both ways. On the surface it may seem like something (i.e., anything that helps a person hold on) is not working, but something less obvious could be happening that is good. You’ve alluded to that phenomenon in a previous comic where one of the male characters goes off his meds, only to realize 3 days later that it ‘WAS the meds after all’. Yes, I agree: the Nope Door is a much bigger problem. BTW, I love your comics. 🙂 If you feel my post earlier is too advice-ish, I will not be offended if you delete these. I understand.
I hate it when people tell me “once you feel better physically you’ll feel better mentally.” Like as soon as I become skinny then all my problems with my anxiety and my thoughts about suicide will just go away. >:(
that time when i was handling my diet so poorly i’d suddenly start hyperventilating during exercise…
didn’t take long before i stopped going. i loved it, was doing a martial art.
but i couldn’t even find the motivation to enable my body to move well.
I have a six pack and do a 150mile charity bike ride and I still hate myself and want to die. Exercise doesn’t help.