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What's your relationship with exercise now?

tommy_d
I used to be a gym person. Like 5-6 days a week, loved it, it was my stress relief and my social life and my identity. Then fibro happened and now my "exercise" is a 10 minute walk on good days and stretching on bad days. I go through cycles of trying to push back to where I was and then crashing and then feeling devastated and then trying again. I know I need to accept my new normal but the gym was such a huge part of who I was. Anyone else navigating this? How did you make peace with a body that can't do what it used to? I'm tired of the grief cycle but I can't seem to let go.

6 Replies

dee_cfs

That when I say "I'm fine" I am almost never fine. I've just run out of ways to explain how I actually feel. And that "I'm fine" usually means "I don't have the energy to have this conversation right now."

greg_c

That I'm not choosing this. Not choosing to cancel. Not choosing to lie in bed. Not choosing to be unreliable. If I could choose, I'd choose my old life in a heartbeat. The fact that I can't is the part that hurts the most.

beckyg

that my good days are not proof that im better. they are good days. they will be followed by bad days. please dont use my good days against me on my bad days

dan_cg

Reading all of these as a caregiver husband. Taking notes. This is exactly why I joined — to understand things she might not know how to say to me directly. Thank you all for being so honest.

amandap

That I need them to stop trying to fix me and just sit with me in it. I don't need solutions. I need presence. Sometimes the most helpful thing is someone saying "that sucks, I'm sorry" instead of "have you tried..."

dadtrying

Another caregiver here actively listening. The "don't use good days against me on bad days" one — I've done that without realizing it. "But you were fine yesterday!" I can see how that feels dismissive. I'll do better.

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