depression from injury?

[rocknrollgirl]

I have been sidelined for about 10 days with what I am hoping is just tendonitis. I have an appointment on Monday with the sports med doc. I have had tendonitis before, but it has never lasted this long.

Anyway, this really hit out of the blue and has caused me to feel pretty depressed. I have never been depressed in my life. Sad, grieved, blue, but never depressed.

I read online that it is not uncommon for athletes to feel depressed when they are injured, due to an actual change in brain chemistry from not training. So I guess it is not unheard of.

The weird thing is that right before it hit, I was about a month back in to base training and feeling so great. Motivated and happy and so pleased with the way things were going. And then blam.

I keep giving myself reality checks:
You don't have cancer
Your son is not going to Iraq
You did not get in an accident
Stop it, stop it, stop it...

Has not helped.....

grrrhhhhh.....

[crazycanuck]

((((RNRG))))

I'm with you at the moment on the injury list & went through the depression feelings for a bit. It's fine to feel like crap when injured and are unsure of what's next.

I had tons of plans for mtn biking, tri, open water swim events this summer but it was all shelved when i had my accident in oct. I'm dying to get back on my bike and drool whenever i see a nice bike and tell myself i'll be out there soon enough. I have to make a complete circle with my leg first..just about!

Take care of yourself, you're an amazing woman It's awesome what you acheived last season & know you'll be back out there soon enough.

Oh I must also tell you, Tameka Day's back racing again! She won her age group @ the Rockingham Tri in Dec & I believe she'll be racing this weekend @ the Waikiki tri. I'll keep an eye out for her as i'm a techie @ the event.

Take care

c

[Tri Girl]

I'm so sorry about your injury. I'll be thinking good thoughts for you this week.
I experienced the same thing a couple years ago when I injured my knee four weeks out from a marathon, and had to walk it instead of running (and I was on pace for setting a PR). I cried the first few times I had to train walking- feeling sorry for myself and upset that I couldn't perform like I'd wanted (well, and it hurt, too). It's tough. Just work through the feelings, and let yourself feel what you're feeling. To an athlete, any injury taking away from any exercise that the body is accustomed to can be very hurtful mentally. I hope you get to feeling better soon and can get back out there and start training.

And CC- I can't believe Tameka is not only back racing, but winning. Amazing. Just amazing!!!

[Wahine]

Yes, it is normal to be depressed when injured. Second, you've never really had a chance to absorb a lot of the things that happened this year. You had a great season and it kept you busy. You had some down time but you were still on the high from your season. Now all of a sudden you have some time on your hands, you can't do what you want and there's a lot of opportunity for things to sneak up on you. You had a fantastic year, but you also had a tough year full of sacrifice and significant loss.

It's OK to be sad. Yes, a lot of it is related to the injury, maybe all of it. But maybe some of it is related to other things and your life. Take a moment to reflect. Let the emotions come as they will. Maybe now is the time for you to absorb all that's happened this year.

Your knee will get better and so will you. Just give yourself the space to process all of this stuff.

I'm thinking about you.

Now I'm off to your injury thread to answer some questions there.

[rocknrollgirl]

Thanks girls,
It has been a crazy year...very high highs, and the lowest lows....exercise is my coping mechanism, tough to do without. I am working on it. Had a big sit down talk with the DH last night...we are fighting through this together...back to back!

[crazycanuck]

(((( RNRG)))))

Don't be hard on yourself, you'll get over this hurdle!

[RoadRaven]

Hugs RnR

I am glad you have the support of your partner

[Crankin]

I can relate. Although I'm not injured, chronic illness has forced me to change the way I work out. What this had made me realize is that cycling has taken over my life. Nothing wrong with that, since it's a family endeavor, but perhaps I need to broaden my horizons? The new hobby thread made me think. I hate doing"hand-work" like knitting, sewing, quilting. I suck at that stuff. My mom was a prolific knitter and I could never even learn to do any of it. I tried doing batik for awhile, but it was sort of a phase. This summer I planted flowers for the first time, but I really find no joy in gardening.
I do love cooking and and often plan 3 new meals a week. But most of my life revolves around cycling (or hiking, nordic skiing, snow shoeing), going out to eat, cooking, and reading. We go to the theatre once a month to see a play.
Our closest friends are our cycling friends and I am worried I won't be able to do things with them as often.
My doctors and friends think I am being very obstinate when I say I can't give up my lifestyle. They are telling me to do moderate exercise, but not to overdo. It is true that intense stuff makes fibromylagia worse, but sometimes I can't help myself. I am not a competitive person by nature, but I think deep down I have been having a competition with myself to improve every season. I was the most uncoordinated kid in PE and cycling has really erased all of that. Now I am going backwards. So I am in a vicious cycle of feeling OK, doing some activity, and then feeling worse.
After 25 years of being involved with sports and gym stuff, it is easy to lose perspective on this.