If you don’t feel sexy, go for a walk

The doctor told me to do two things to cure my depression. 1.Get up and get moving and 2. Tell my wife we need to have more sex.

That was the advice given to me by an internist a couple years ago, when I was mired in the muck of depression.

I came away thinking two things. If you suffer from depression, you need to see a specialist. And second, that doctor has not been married for very long.

Those of us who deal with depression know how hard it is to get off the couch some days, much less run off to Zumba class. They know that depressed people don’t exactly feel sexy. And our significant others sure as hell don’t feel attracted to us when we can barely muster a smile.

I’m learning that doctor isn’t all wrong, though. I remember when walking to the mailbox felt like a victory after a “sick” day in the bed. When I don’t feel like running, a hobby I enjoy when I’m not bluesing, a brisk walk down the street and back relieves the pain of depression, at least for a little while. HERE'S WHY

If I can force myself to go for a run and suffer through the first mile, the payoff can be huge. Exercising seems to do even more for anxiety, providing somewhere for those random running thoughts to escape.

As for sex, well, it’s pretty good for depression, too. Or so I hear.