patricia
don't give up on exercise. i didn't exercise, added weight and acquired diabetes..a threatening dangerous, diabilitating disease that robs me of the quality of life and will take years of the future away from me.
in our family two siblings didn't exercise much and we are dysfunctional, stressed and significant under-achievers. The other three exercised religiously and are very energetic and successful people.
if there is one thing i would do over again, if i could in my past, it would be to exercise consistently.
we have only one body, in our life. if we don't use it, we lose it. we suffer. if we don't exercise we give up. that's sort of what depression is about. we find that it is easier to give up, than to function in the world. we are certainly not motivated to exercise. one of my brothers was lost in the wilderness overnight, during a very cold winter. he knew if he were to give in to his desire to sleep, he would freeze to death, and never wake up. he had to fight to stay awake, to stay alive. when we are depressed we have to fight to exercise. exercise is absolutely essential to a functional life.
there are hundreds of ways to motivate or trick ourselves to exercise. i just re-discovered photography, in the digital form. i can walk around for hours taking photos, for example.
good luck...life for depressed people can be a tough uphill battle.
bob