Depression and Training

[stef]

by Andrew Lewis

Managing your depression will be crucial if you want to make long term strength progress. There are a few rules and concepts that I have learned through personal experience that may help you.


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[samking7185]

Excellent article!

[Fast Eddie Rochester]

Great article, Andrew.

Establishing the habit of training to the point of unconscious reflex can't be hammered on enough.

In my own experience, the detail-oriented mechanical nature of training has given me a lot of tools to deal with stress and depression. Or as you've said, to manage it, which I think is a better way to put it because it reasserts the control you do innately have but are unable to get in touch with.

Breaking the task down into repeatable steps. Establishing achievable benchmarks and hitting them. Thinking about numbers/sets/reps. Thinking about form. Having direct control over the execution of the lift. Rip's said it plenty of times, but there's a lot of carryover from dealing with struggle under the bar to dealing with the struggle under anxiety, especially in the current culture.

[coleossus]

Wasn't particularly impressed by this article. There's some exceptionally glib language in there, especially the line about the girlfriend. I get that glib is part of what we do, but that line (and others like it) were utterly tasteless and could be removed entirely without effecting the spirit of the article.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Wasn't particularly impressed by this article.

Of course not. I haven't been particularly impressed with your posting history, but since you shared this, so will I.

[AndrewLewis]

There's some exceptionally glib language in there, especially the line about the girlfriend.

Every story mentioned is true. Some of them are mine. The others are of two of my good friends. The line about the girlfriend has been extremely destructive in my friend's life. He is a good man who has honest intentions, but believes he is a monster because of a series of missteps as a stupid teenager.

could be removed entirely without effecting the spirit of the article.

You'll find that the most common complaint associated with Starting Strength is that it's dry. Information framed in a story-like and emotionally charged way is more likely to be interesting and to be remembered.

[AndrewLewis]

Thanks for the feedback though. I always appreciate honest criticism.

[coleossus]

Of course not. I haven't been particularly impressed with your posting history, but since you shared this, so will I.

Not sure why you consider my perspective a foregone conclusion, Rip. I have a pretty positive opinion of Andrew, personally. He's been very polite and even-handed considering his volume of participation here. Just thought a couple of lines could've been cleaned up.

[coleossus]

Thanks for the feedback though. I always appreciate honest criticism.

See? Perfectly decent guy. This is what I meant. This is the same behavior I've seen from him everywhere.

Every story mentioned is true. Some of them are mine. The others are of two of my good friends. The line about the girlfriend has been extremely destructive in my friend's life. He is a good man who has honest intentions, but believes he is a monster because of a series of missteps as a stupid teenager.

You'll find that the most common complaint associated with Starting Strength is that it's dry. Information framed in a story-like and emotionally charged way is more likely to be interesting and to be remembered.

My issue isn't so much whether they're real or fabricated, but I kind of felt like those lines perpetuated the idea that 'Yes, you are guilty for that' when in reality - as I'm sure everyone has tried to explain to your friend - suicide is a very impulsive thing at its core (not necessarily suggesting 'sudden', as much as I'm suggesting it's a drive from within the victim more than it is influence from loved ones around them). An onlooker who read that without context or appreciation for SS may have those depressive feelings aggravated and stop right there without reading more.

I'm not so much trying to deny your experience or perspective as valid, as I am expressing concerns for how someone else with another perspective might receive some of those things, considering how they were written. The core sentiment behind the article I thought was very valid, it was just those specific lines came across crass.

Thanks for the approachable demeanor, as usual, Andrew!

[AndrewLewis]

An onlooker who read that without context or appreciation for SS may have those depressive feelings aggravated and stop right there without reading more.

I'm not so much trying to deny your experience or perspective as valid, as I am expressing concerns for how someone else with another perspective might receive some of those things, considering how they were written. The core sentiment behind the article I thought was very valid, it was just those specific lines came across crass.

Yeah. I guess I didn't think of that. I wanted the article to be associable to the target audience. Sort of a "you're not alone" kind of thing.