To anybody nursing an injury or recovering from surgery – hang in there. It’s not easy and every day can be a struggle. I’ve had two serious injuries and they both came with a bout of depression and anxiety. 🙇🏻♀️
When I sprained my ankle in October, I was full of confidence that I’d recover quickly. A month in, the ankle started swelling up after every session, throbbing with pain nearly every night and I had to strip my training back to basics for 4-5 months. Guess what – I hated it! I wanted to be as strong as I always was, the girl who motivates others. And suddenly my leg training was reduced to elastic bands and two machines. No squats, lunges, leg press, deadlifts etc. In December I went to the gym FOUR times and even then I didn’t get much done because I was low. 🙅🏻♀️
Let me help you put yourself in the shoes of a person who has been injured to understand the mindset. Think of your favourite exercises or fav body part to train. How would you feel if for an unspecified amount of time you were not allowed to do those exercises? Or maybe never again? Because you don’t know if it will ever be ok? Or maybe you might need surgery, who knows? 🤷🏻♀️
Fact is, rehab often comes with anxiety and depression. Anxiety from fear of the unknown as every wrong move can set you back so much. And depression from comparing your current self to the person you were before the injury. And, as if that wasn’t enough, we then sabotage our diets and add yet another worry to our already busy minds. The list goes on… 🤦🏻♀️
Let’s make the noise STOP. 😌 Remember: you have gone through difficult times before but you came out a winner EVERY TIME. 🎉🏆 I did too, three months ago. You must not reduce yourself to this bump in the road. I know, it seems like it will never get better but it will. Yes, there will be setbacks because healing isn’t linear. But one day you will suddenly realise you can’t even remember the last time your ______ hurt. And you smile because you’re back! But this time stronger, mentally and physically. ♥️
I’d like to dedicate this post to all the awesome people that I know who have bounced back from injuries and surgeries. I’ve been witness to incredible recoveries – please leave a message for others if you’d like to let them know they’re not alone! It’s the success stories that will get us through the tough days. ♥️
RAHEL THE AMAZON 