Get it Done When You’re Depressed: Think like an athlete!

Think Like an Athlete

I like to talk with people who have achieved excellence in the sporting world. Their dedication and perseverance are similar to what it takes to manage bipolar disorder successfully.

Here is a great quote:

You can neither win or lose if you don’t get into the game.

How true. I often get scared and stressed when I approach a new book deal. There is always the chance of a no- but there is always the chance of a yes- so I stay in the game. I always get sick bipolar wise when I write books with strict deadlines- I often feel I can’t go on. But I do and I’m glad I stick it out. When I do interviews for my book Get it Done When You’re Depressed, the interviewers inevitably ask me about my Think Like an Athlete tip. Athletes keep going no matter what- and we can too. If you’ve never tried it, a batting cage or driving range are a lot of fun and a great way to get out of a depression.

I have been thinking lately that it would be fun to go to a driving range and see if I can still hit a ball. Maybe there is a golf pro out there who would like to give me some tips! 😉

Julie

2 comments to Get it Done When You’re Depressed: Think like an athlete!

  • Terry

    Hi Julie,

    Here’s another athletic quote:

    “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

    -Wayne Gretsky

    hi Terry,

    I used to watch him play when I lived near Vancouver, Canada. What an athlete! yes, we have to go for the goals- and just deal with the fear while we are doing it! That is the only way to get rewards. Julie

  • Liz

    Some days I feel like I’m climbing Mount Everest.
    Have you watched those climbers tackling that mountain because its there?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_0eAj9rvBg&feature=related

    BP robs your energies sometimes. It’s very laborious.
    Step by step.
    I can empathize with the climbers but I haven’t hallucinated yet nor used up bottles of oxygen.
    But I feel half dead sometimes.

    Last night I couldn’t get to sleep and today I felt really tired. We had a half day and I work with kids with hyperactivity!

    That was fun!
    And they watched “West Side Story”…they liked the fights between the Jets and Sharks. They started a fight in the classroom.

    I wish they would stay with the dancing scenes.

    When I got home from school I was really tired. So tired I didn’t go to the gym because I was afraid I would fall asleep on the treadmill.

    But I have to do things to make the house functional before I take care of myself because everyone else is working this afternoon.

    It was a nice sunny day.
    I had to take care of the animals. I let Frank the Rabbit out into his pen, put our Yorkie outside to soak up the sun, the older cat outside with his food dish so he wouldn’t be bothering me to be let out after he ate and then I unleashed our four ferrets to roam freely while I open our window so our one eye cat can watch the world go by.

    Everything was peaceful.
    No animal was harmed.
    The ferrets got tired after an hour and feel asleep in their little cubbies.
    I slept for three hours before my husband came home.

    We dined out then took a hike on our local beach. Got our exercise.

    If I have this extreme fatigue again I will notify the doctor again.

    What a day!