The bastardised callisthenics will help. Getting laid is obviously more fun but that's not always without complication is it? (both within and without relationships )...
...when I feel the Black Dog breathing down my neck I tend to run away from it. Semi-regular 10k's do the trick for me but you have to go hard; you need to feel like your skin has been pricked with hot needles, your heart is trying to squeeze itself through the gaps in your ribcage and your legs are no longer your own.
I would recommend getting hold of a copy of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami as a companion piece...
I read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running a few years ago and loved it. Never really been a fan of running but recently read Born to Run* by Christopher McDougall and it's comfortably the most inspirational book I've ever read. I did actually start running after reading it, but then my enthusiasm drifted off. After reading your post, I can feel it drifting back again. Thanks.
* have you read this btw? can send you my copy as a gift if you like.
Haven't read Born to Run - thanks for the tip - really not sure how this book managed to pass me by: "...including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark..." Sold!
"At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals." Sounds right up my street. Thanks for the generous offer SR - it's much appreciated - but I'll get myself a copy.
Sounds like life is tough right now, but I think you are tougher.
Vibes (of the good & wholesome variety) sent.
Yeah, there seems to be a bit of me and life rope-a-dope going on right now but I'm getting there. Vibes (good ones too) headed right back - sounds pure ace out there.
Haven't read Born to Run - thanks for the tip - really not sure how this book managed to pass me by: "...including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark..." Sold!
"At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals." Sounds right up my street. Thanks for the generous offer SR - it's much appreciated - but I'll get myself a copy.
There does seem to be (at least a bit of) blending of reality/fiction/exaggeration with Christopher McDougall but it really is a terrific read (as is Natural Born Heroes). Try and let me know how you get on with it. Happy weekending.
You ever get treatment for the depression? There have been a few suicides recently of people slightly older than myself (35+) which had me wondering what what treatment if any these people have received for depression. I can sort of understand suicide more among younger people who haven't had experience dealing with depression and/or had time to develop coping strategies or possibly seek medical help, but the number of people succumbing to suicide after decades long battles with depression and mental health issues is a curious thing to me. I guess if it's been a 2.5 decade struggle for you, you absolutely fall into this category of slightly older, veterans of the mental health battle and might have some insight.
You ever get treatment for the depression? There have been a few suicides recently of people slightly older than myself (35+) which had me wondering what what treatment if any these people have received for depression. I can sort of understand suicide more among younger people who haven't had experience dealing with depression and/or had time to develop coping strategies or possibly seek medical help, but the number of people succumbing to suicide after decades long battles with depression and mental health issues is a curious thing to me. I guess if it's been a 2.5 decade struggle for you, you absolutely fall into this category of slightly older, veterans of the mental health battle and might have some insight.
Good to have you here, @ITSQUADSY , and you raise an interesting point.
First, I've had a number of treatments - from cocktails of anti-psychotic and anti-depressant drugs to CBT and other forms of therapy. Medication and therapy did wonders for me in my early 20's but barely seem to touch the sides now and so I tend to deal (although deal should probably be in inverted commas) with my depression in a more holistic/organic way: lots of exercise, daily meditation, a much healthier (broadly Mediterranean) diet, less booze and indulging of other recreational peccadilloes, no cigarettes, vape cbd oil for anxiety, lots of reading, lots of writing, waking up earlier, trying to volunteer (great for depression, apparently), cold showers (yep, I'm talking about these again), being kinder to people etc etc etc.
It seems to be working, somewhat.
Suicide rates are alarming and deeply troubling. It's an oft-quoted statistic that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in this country. High risk factors for lots of these men include having depression or other psychiatric disorders, a low level of education, un(or under)employment, a history of alcohol and substance misuse and a few other things that, from a personal point of view, are worrying. I'm ticking lots of these boxes.
This stuff is quite nuanced, though. Recent high profile suicides - Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade among them - and over the years the suicides of people who I admired from afar (Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Foster Wallace, Gary Speed) suggests it's not entirely down to socio-demographics, success in life, access to treatment and so on which knocks my theory of overcoming depression and eliminating this suicidal ideation of mine - this theory roughly goes: write best selling books, get rich, get laid more often - into a cocked hat.
That said, in my experience when I have been engaged in meaningful work and felt a greater sense of purpose in life then the depression has just kind of swanned off. Perhaps I'll try that. In fact, your post has inspired me to, finally, volunteer for Dorset Mind so, you know, thanks for that.
If you/anyone have any more questions then feel free to ask, peace out.
Agree with everything people have already said about exercise. Obvious physical benefits but also the psychological benefits, not only from endorphin release, but from goal setting, accomplishments, taking action, having something that you are in control of, etc
Not sure yet. I could go through my agent (which would take two plus years to see it on the shelves) or self-publish (on the e-shelves next week) or something in between.
Agree with everything people have already said about exercise. Obvious physical benefits but also the psychological benefits, not only from endorphin release, but from goal setting, accomplishments, taking action, having something that you are in control of, etc
Congrats on the book!
Yup, it certainly seems to have a ton of benefits. Thanks for the congrats dude.
The good news, is that I am playing poker again with some relish and winning. Relish+winning= good poker times.
What I haven't been doing with relish and enjoyment is getting laid - that's the bad news. How long will this barren stretch last - until next February, a whole year? Two years? Fifty? Let's see.
The indifferent news is that I have decided to go ahead and self-publish my poker book, Notes from the Poker Trenches. It comes with a ton of caveats, including it not being for those hungry for poker strategy (IT ISN'T A STRAT BOOK), or for those who like good looking front covers (IT HAS A DELIBERATELY JANKY FRONT COVER), or for those who like paperbacks (IT IS ONLY AN EBOOK AT THIS STAGE).
That said, there's some good stuff. First, it's made me feel better about things. Second, as Notes from the Poker Trenches is effectively a collection of annotated old poker columns, it allows the 2018 me to berate the 2013 me. That's quite interesting. Third, it gives a reasonable account of the beatability (not a word, but should be) of the games in 2012/2013 and an example of how easy it was to zoom through the ranks from total novice to winning player (a couple of months, in my case). Fourth, I nick loads of film quotes and titles to name my columns. Fifth, it's been out for less than a week and is ALREADY A NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER*. If people who read my diary and like it and want to support me and keep my book as a NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER* then I would be genuinely delighted. Thank you.
*that was the big print, this is the small print. It is a number one bestseller in a very niche category (Kindle store-books-humour-puzzles&games-card games) and even that is looking precarious.
After all that, the link doesn't appear to work. I'm rushing out now to spend my royalties and will try to fix later. In the meantime, if anyone can't wait to get their hands on a copy please do google "Notes from the Poker Trenches Steven Rowland" and you'll be...well not exactly dazzled, but hopefully not too unhappy in parting with £1.99.
EDIT Link works now, and I hardly had to kick any stuff in frustration to get it working.
Comments
* have you read this btw? can send you my copy as a gift if you like.
Chin up Cold Shower Bloke.
Sounds like life is tough right now, but I think you are tougher.
Vibes (of the good & wholesome variety) sent.
"At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals." Sounds right up my street. Thanks for the generous offer SR - it's much appreciated - but I'll get myself a copy.
There have been a few suicides recently of people slightly older than myself (35+) which had me wondering what what treatment if any these people have received for depression. I can sort of understand suicide more among younger people who haven't had experience dealing with depression and/or had time to develop coping strategies or possibly seek medical help, but the number of people succumbing to suicide after decades long battles with depression and mental health issues is a curious thing to me. I guess if it's been a 2.5 decade struggle for you, you absolutely fall into this category of slightly older, veterans of the mental health battle and might have some insight.
First, I've had a number of treatments - from cocktails of anti-psychotic and anti-depressant drugs to CBT and other forms of therapy. Medication and therapy did wonders for me in my early 20's but barely seem to touch the sides now and so I tend to deal (although deal should probably be in inverted commas) with my depression in a more holistic/organic way: lots of exercise, daily meditation, a much healthier (broadly Mediterranean) diet, less booze and indulging of other recreational peccadilloes, no cigarettes, vape cbd oil for anxiety, lots of reading, lots of writing, waking up earlier, trying to volunteer (great for depression, apparently), cold showers (yep, I'm talking about these again), being kinder to people etc etc etc.
It seems to be working, somewhat.
Suicide rates are alarming and deeply troubling. It's an oft-quoted statistic that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in this country. High risk factors for lots of these men include having depression or other psychiatric disorders, a low level of education, un(or under)employment, a history of alcohol and substance misuse and a few other things that, from a personal point of view, are worrying. I'm ticking lots of these boxes.
This stuff is quite nuanced, though. Recent high profile suicides - Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade among them - and over the years the suicides of people who I admired from afar (Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Foster Wallace, Gary Speed) suggests it's not entirely down to socio-demographics, success in life, access to treatment and so on which knocks my theory of overcoming depression and eliminating this suicidal ideation of mine - this theory roughly goes: write best selling books, get rich, get laid more often - into a cocked hat.
That said, in my experience when I have been engaged in meaningful work and felt a greater sense of purpose in life then the depression has just kind of swanned off. Perhaps I'll try that. In fact, your post has inspired me to, finally, volunteer for Dorset Mind so, you know, thanks for that.
If you/anyone have any more questions then feel free to ask, peace out.
Keep fighting it mate, you can beat it.
EDIT - You WILL beat it.
Getting laid since February update: Nope.
Book update: Book is done.
A mixed bag, then.
Will the book get published?
Congrats on the book!
The good news, is that I am playing poker again with some relish and winning. Relish+winning= good poker times.
What I haven't been doing with relish and enjoyment is getting laid - that's the bad news. How long will this barren stretch last - until next February, a whole year? Two years? Fifty? Let's see.
The indifferent news is that I have decided to go ahead and self-publish my poker book, Notes from the Poker Trenches. It comes with a ton of caveats, including it not being for those hungry for poker strategy (IT ISN'T A STRAT BOOK), or for those who like good looking front covers (IT HAS A DELIBERATELY JANKY FRONT COVER), or for those who like paperbacks (IT IS ONLY AN EBOOK AT THIS STAGE).
That said, there's some good stuff. First, it's made me feel better about things. Second, as Notes from the Poker Trenches is effectively a collection of annotated old poker columns, it allows the 2018 me to berate the 2013 me. That's quite interesting. Third, it gives a reasonable account of the beatability (not a word, but should be) of the games in 2012/2013 and an example of how easy it was to zoom through the ranks from total novice to winning player (a couple of months, in my case). Fourth, I nick loads of film quotes and titles to name my columns. Fifth, it's been out for less than a week and is ALREADY A NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER*. If people who read my diary and like it and want to support me and keep my book as a NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER* then I would be genuinely delighted. Thank you.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Notes-Poker-Trenches-Steven-Rowland-ebook/dp/B07FKR2FBR/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1532017615&sr=1-1&keywords=notes+from+the+poker+trenches
*that was the big print, this is the small print. It is a number one bestseller in a very niche category (Kindle store-books-humour-puzzles&games-card games) and even that is looking precarious.
EDIT Link works now, and I hardly had to kick any stuff in frustration to get it working.
For technophobes such as myself, does one require a Kindle in order to read it or can I just get it to my computer/ipad as a pdf or something?