Hi guys, this is a long post, so I’ll just say this is intended for those who are frustrated with having to deal with persistent negative symptoms.
I just want to say that from my experience of dealing with negative symptoms and depression either native to the illness or brought on by the medications we take, besides taking various supplements,I have found exercise to be the single biggest difference maker in improving my energy levels, motivation, alogia, confidence, and overall sense of well-being. Seriously, if you haven’t already gotten into the habit of it, I highly stress that you start working that body of yours to its limits!
Now, I know that it’s a bit of a catch-22 in that the negative symptoms prevent you from having the motivation to exercise. And on top of that, the medication zaps your energy levels and endurance. If this is the case, then what you have to do is start forcing yourself to do it, no matter how much you don’t feel like doing it, as if your life depends on it. From my experience, it was hell initially but I fought through it and now I look forward to doing my evening work out. I tell you, I could barely run for 30 seconds and now I can go for 20 minutes!
It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate either: I simply make it a goal every day to do one more push-up and one more sit-up. Today I just got to 50 of each! And then I run a little further every other day. But we all have to find something that works for us, individually.
I hope this didn’t come across as too preachy. I just wanted to throw this simple idea out there because I basically tried everything else to cure my problems and they weren’t nearly as effective. I don’t know why it took so long for me to realize this.
Finally, to those of you who have tried their very best to exercise to no avail, I recommend being patient with yourself and never losing hope that one day things will improve. Because I did try exercising after my first hospitalization and it didn’t do anything for me. But 5 years later, and it’s finally working. So it might not be the right time for it if it’s not.
I suffered from quite debilitating depression and self-esteem issues related to not being able to follow what people were saying to me and not being able to come up with anything to say in conversation as a result of the psychotic episode I had in 2015, But by God, have things flipped for me! Never lose hope guys and keep fighting!