The Running Process
Starting out, there is a slight chill in the air, you feel the weight of your body as you land on the front of your foot, the impact reverberates through your leg and up your torso. Sometimes it hurts getting started, or out of the gate, you feel the release of having a place to exert pent-up energy. And then you settle in, getting your breathing down and finding a rhythm, depending on the distance, your mindset shifts to see each leg of the run as a stage all unique and different on its own. You pay attention to the environment as markers of progress and appreciate the variety. The likeness of running and therapy is one and the same and why running is my therapy.
The hills represent their own stage, gravity as the force that wants to hold you down… but you lean into it, focus on your breathing and modify your approach, smaller steps, deeper breathes and before you know it… you at the top and you feel relief, breathing is a little easier and your legs feel lighter, but you can’t stop… this was just one of several.
As your foot strikes the pavement, you rehash the day’s events, process the different challenges, plan for the next days, put everything into perspective, what seemed like a big deal before, fades off and you experience life, free and unattached (unless running against the clock) but even then… the newfound perspective is as good as therapy.
My Therapy Is Running
Running has been a mainstay for me since college and my most reliable and consistent form of therapy since. Running is toughest when you are getting started, just like therapy, it can be grueling, just like therapy and it can reveal possibilities and accomplishments that you never thought possible, just like therapy – It forces you to dig deep and it will always be harder before it actually feels good, just like therapy.
Running leaves you feeling victorious, depleted, powerful, and weak… sometimes all at once! There are times when you are running towards something and at times away from something else. I have felt the widest range of emotions while running, fear, sadness, despair, anger, hope, happiness, thankful, curious, frustration, and adventure.
Needless to say, when all else fails, I hit the trail with minimal equipment needed, running shoes on my feet, ready to face the demons within.
When I was forced to take this past year off, due to a sprained ankle, I was reminded just how important this part of my self-care and approach to clearing my head is for me. Cause while I enjoy it for the physical benefits, as you can clearly see, it really is for the mental benefits that gets me out there at sometimes ungodly hours.
Running is my therapy for lots of reasons… maybe this is also true for you too? If so, share below what running is for you.
Running Can be Hard… Just Like Therapy
Nothing worth having is ever easy to achieve or attain – Teddy Roosevelt
I think of this quote (paraphrased slightly), often and find it to be so true when it comes to running. Whatever it is that you are looking for through your running, be it fitness or mental clarity, it is usually hard to find the time and sometimes motivation to get out there, but once you get out the door (in the case of therapy, it would be in the door) it all gets a little easier… just like therapy.
Facing yourself and your limitations is nothing that anyone relishes. Realizing that your body is just not built to run a 7-minute mile might be as hard as it is to realize that to find happiness means you will not stifle your voice and will need to make some hard decisions about your life and those in your life. It doesn’t mean however that you can’t work to reach a 9-minute mile through workouts and conditioning just like you can learn to love yourself and develop the skills to cope with the day-to-day challenges you endure.
Barriers…
There is no shortage of reasons to not get out there and run off your day, time is one of the biggest obstacles. At the end of the day, you compete with fatigue, the temptation to throw on a comfy pair of sweats and settle in for the evening, especially during the cooler months when it’s dark by 5 pm. In the early morning, the same challenges exist plus the extra push you need to get out of a warm bed and get yourself out into the cool dark of the early morning, equally daunting… even when it is most easy, like when the sun is out and the air doesn’t have that frosty bite to it just yet, maybe it’s late morning on a weekend and still, there will be reasons that keep you away from what you know will do you good.
Therapy can be very similar, the challenge of fitting it in, facing discomfort, and sometimes shrugging it off when things are going well. Funny how when we are in our therapeutic stride we back off and say, “I am good, I can take a break”, sometimes that is the case, we do need to give our legs a break every so often. But just like running if you fall out of synch for a bit, it’s harder to get back on the proverbial horse.
5 Things Running Has Taught Me
#1 – Discipline – No doubt about it, if you want to run, you have to be disciplined and make sure that you work it into your life, just as you would with therapy. It doesn’t always feel good but, without it, you feel way worse, sometimes this is the motivating factor, it pays off!
#2 – That anything is possible – The accomplishments I have felt through my running, marathons, triathlons, or the consistency of running daily, were all at first, what other people did, not me. It all seemed impossible until I was doing it, with training and guidance, anything is possible.
#3 – Life mottos – “One step at a time”, “Slow and steady”, “Just breath”, these are just a few of the phrases I use when I am out there slugging it out… be it out on the course or just in my day to day life… all so relevant in everything we do and how we get through the tough stuff.
#4- Pace myself – It is after all a marathon, not a sprint, you gotta pace yourself or you will deplete your energy reserves and not have anything in the tank for the last half of your run, just like in life, we need to make sure we get the rest in and self-care so that we can get out there and do the work of our everyday lives.
#5 – Versatility – We gotta change things up at times, in life and in running. Sometimes it is out of necessity, being away from home, similarly, sometimes the way we are approaching a problem, needs to be thought about differently, and so we change the angle that we see it at or we solicit help from others.
Final Thoughts…
Although there can be overwhelming benefits to running as your therapy, remember that the act of actually sitting in an office with someone (or on the screen, in the case of telehealth sessions) is sometimes what is needed. Running is an amazing add-on to therapy and at times might be all you need, you will be able to determine this with your healthcare providers and therapist. If you are considering a break from therapy, it will be important to find the other ways that you will maintain your mental health and this might be where running fits in as your supplement to therapy.
If you are looking for a telehealth option for therapy, you can check out online-therapy.com, they are available to meet with anyone worldwide and by using my link you will get 20% off your first month.
Just like anything, when you’ve got your stride down, it’s easier. If you are coming off a running break and building back your conditioning, it will feel tough, but little by little you will feel better, you will feel more in shape and a lot less winded, your legs will feel less like lead – it might even start to feel almost effortless, like you are out for an easy stroll and although at times tired, you feel like you can just go and run with the wind. So it is true when you have the tools you need for life through therapy… what seemed so hard before will be a whole lot easier, maybe effortless at times, therapy is a little like training for life, but you gotta keep up with it, cause life is one wild ride, and isn’t it awesome that you have running to back you up!
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References
- BMC Public Health: Effect of running therapy on depression (EFFORT-D). Design of a randomised controlled trial in adult patients
- Johns Hopkins Medicine: The Truth Behind ‘Runner’s High’ and Other Mental Benefits of Running
