Depressed -- injuries...man oh freakin' man they suck.

[Ivan]

Fellas, I play semi-pro football and I seperated my shoulder 5 months ago and also partially tore my rotator cuff. I have lost 30 fucking pounds and I am really struggling it seems. I have to gain that weight back by Jan. 1st, and so far I still am at about 60% healthy, STILL. Worse, these fucking pain pills have me all in a fog --- and when I come off them, I get all shitty. I am a serious athlete and also a captain -- people count on me A LOT... When Ken Caminiti died and they talked about his "demons" I understood that all too well. So my question is this: how the hell do you beat these personal demons? Most poeple have ZERO idea and have all these god damn expectations of me. I have this black cloud surrounding me and I hide it VERY well. Come JAn. I have to be big, fast, clean and ready to rock and roll -- and above all... HEALTHY!

 

[Armageddon]

I know all to well of this. I also play ball for a team here in Michigan. I've had a few subluxations of my shoulder in the past few years, and played with a seperated one at the beginning of the season two years ago. IT SUCKS. You can't do much but be a body on the field at times, and when you can't make consistent plays that your used to it gets to you! I tried to stay away from the pain medicine, maybe somes vics here and there when I couldn't stand it very much. Since theses injuries i know have bursitis in the joint and sometimes it's worse than the original injury. This your our season was cut short due to $financial reasons, which has given me sometime to rest. But I went back to school so I've lost about 26lbs since summer/fall. It really sucks! The one thing you can really do is prepare yourself physically to be ready to come back. I know it's hard but once you do all the little things. Ice, Ice, Ice, then do massage, get some ART therapy to keep inflammation and scar tissue out of there to promote the healing process. Use some glucosamine, msm, and joint care agent possible. there's been some good articles put up. Check them out. Find some GH if you can. Little things always help, once you see performance start to come back you'll be set. Stretch under extreme control. Take your time, once it's healed in the next month or so you'll have all of december to come back and it will, and fast. If you can try and keep up on the cardio, but I know running probably aggrevates the shoulder. Ride a bike if you can, cause as long as you have you wind and speed then the muscle will catch up fast. The best thing that helped me was the ART, it saved my season many a times. One thing that you might be able to do is go to a medical supply place and get a pure oxygen tank and use it a few times a day. The pure oxygen will promote healing. Or if you have a sports medical facility or if a local university may have one of those bags you can get into. I can't think of the proper name for them but Romanowski and Owens both use them all the time to help heal from injuries throughout the season. Keep your head Up

 

[Sigmund Roid]

Ivan,

Yes those injuries do suck! I have had a few myself, bad ones. Ironically enough, the depressing behavior you have chosen is a far healthier behavior than chosing to anger. (Especially in your case) For you and everyone else around you, it's better to be a little down right now than letting your anger at a frustrating situation rule your actions. I'll explain further, I have to go to work. I have read your posts and you seem like a good guy.

 

[Sigmund Roid]

IVAN,

I was wondering if anything else is going on in your life other than your injuries? Is there anyone else you are blaming for how you feel?

I have a couple of thoughts to share with you about feeling bad. Anytime we are feeling bad we have three choices: 1. change what we want. 2. Change what we are doing, or 3. Change both.

Right now, my guess is you don't feel like you are in effective control of your life. We can then choose how we will react to the situation. One of the most common immediate reactions is ANGER. It's built into our genes to help us survive. Ever since infancy we have used it when we were not able to satisfy our needs. Right now you have a clear picture in your mind of how you want things to be in your quality world. You as a good athlete, healthy and strong, performing at a high level. Anger might have been your first response ,but we learn as children that anger is usually an ineffective response. It usually doesn't get us closer to what we want. If we throw a tantrum for too long we usually get punished or rejected. That is especially dangerous for someone who is a big, juiced up athlete. Your choice (although it may not feel like one) to depress is actually one of the best ways to restrain anger. (and keep us from killing people, depression actually prevents a huge amount of marital and family violence). So don't worry too much right now.

To depress you have to keep thinking unhappy thoughts that keep one or more of the three reasons to depress going: restraining anger, needing help, or avoiding something we don't want to do.

To stop thinking these unhappy thoughts you have to: 1. change what you want or, 2. Change your behavior.

Ivan, my contention is that your injuries are not MAKING you unhappy. Think of it this way: A man comes home and finds his wife has left him, this cannot MAKE him depressed. Depending on his thoughts he might be overjoyed or relieved. The only things we can control are our thoughts and actions.
If you get time, I'd like to know more about what else is going on in your life besides your injuries. How are things in the area of relationships, jobs, etc...

Sigmund Roid

 

[Ivan]

thanks guys

Army --- damn bro we would get along great man. You are a RB right? Anyhow, man oh man am I tired of this. We should talk sometime man.

Sigmund ---- here is the deal man... I am currently in a rut of pure frustration. I CANNOT go through my usual routines of my lifestyle. EVERYTHING is different right now. Since I cannot do what I truly desire (to compete, train) I have become depressed. Watching my body waste away has had a horrible affect on me.

Thanks for your concern.

 

[Sigmund Roid]

Ivan,

I understand why you are feeling the way you do. I think I understand your wants and needs in the way of athletics. I'd like more information about the total picture. What are your goals or desires for life, not just the next couple years. For example, do you see yourself married, what is your idea of the perfect job, where you'd like to live, what sort of car, that type of stuff. I am interested in the big picture. With that in mind (pm me if you'd like) how are your current quality relationships, with parents, girlfriend, boss, etc?

I liked Armegedon's suggestions. At least you'll be making strides in a positive direction.


Sigmund Roid

 

[Armageddon]

How does that make you feel? Siggy's pretty good. Positive thought is the best thing going for anyone out there. Our brains are very powerful. Knowing that we only use a small portion throughout our lives, I think it's very important for us to stay positive. I think this helps recruit more of our brain for positive afformation making us more aware of what needs to be done. I can't even begin to think about how many times I've been down over injuries. I've been there for months, even the beginning of this year. But it seems that its been turning around as I've been trying to do things in small steps to stay busy and motivated. Although these things maynot be exactly what I want to do at the moment they help. Truely I'd rather be at the gym throughing around some weight and acting like an asshole with everyone else in the rec-center not knowing how to act around me. But I can't! So I've gone on dates with chicks, eaten foods that I normally wouldn't eat, had a glass of wine, hungout with some friends. Anything that just keeps me positive, knowing all along in the back of my mind that once my body says it's time IT'S ON! Someone told me about the KISS (keep it simple stupid) method long ago, and for someone like me it works.
Yeah I'm a running back, out/inside linebacker, or a safety. Oh and even lined up split out from time to time. I really like defense though, I love just laying the hammer to people and getting up and watching them try and open there eyes and then look at you like "why did you just hit me so hard". That right there is great Just keep your head up, eyes open and keep working towards getting better

 

[Steak Helmet]

IVAN,

YOu are one of the mentally strongest people I know. I know you can kick this and get yourself out of cruise control. You will be ready by JAN 1st because i will be playing with you(tell stew to call me).

Get your ass eating, train around the injury, and get off the pain meds. make sure you are running your life and not the pain meds. Like I said you are strong...mentally and physically. You will have no problem kicking this and getting back on track.

Chat with you soon buddy.

 

[MiniYates]

I Know how it feels, in 18 months i´ve torn my chest, had an abscess in my tricep and to top it of I ruptured my appendix and lost 45 pounds. That is some depressing shit right there. I must say I feel pretty good anyway about life and training in general even if i´m not at my best by a longshot. I try to see it as that i´m not my body but my mind....what the body does is not in our control as much as the mind. Try to stay positive bro. heads up!

 

[bigj]

Heads-up

Hi there folks,

This is my first time posting to this forum; I’m 55 years young and live in the UK. I will keep this short, but I know all about inquiries and personal demons, having damaged my short head tendon over 10 years ago doing very heavy bench press, which as now turned into Tenderises. I have also had two operations on my right knee due to accidents fighting in Karate, and have had most of the cartilage removed. They always seem to strike when things are going your way. But I will and will not stop doing the sport of Karate (over 34 years now) or bodybuilding. I know how hard it is to keep going, but in the end that’s what life is really all about, never letting go of your dreams, if you really want to do something then you will. And yes people will look to you; because you are doing something they can only imagine must be very difficult – you become their inspiration! Let me tell you about an 80 year old man I meat at a Powerlifting event who had just broke the weight record for squatting in his weight and age class. Not only had he squatted 135kg, at 80yrs, but also he was, and this is the kicker, waiting for an artificial knee replacement. He told me that life must go on and if you want to be the best, then you must do your best, or life will pass you by without a flicker of acknowledgment. I full Hartley agree with him, life may have you down at this moment in time, but through determination and hard work you can and will overcome all that life throws at you, keep your chin up and Never give in. I sincerely hope that this posting as been of help to you…bigj

 

[vitor]

Can you work on your cardio endurance etc, eat your clean diet, and just take it as a long much needed break from training. Get a girlfriend or a dog, relax, you will be back on top sooner than later. When one door shuts another opens..


Your the capt what would you tell one of your players if he said this to you? You will tell him to keep his head up, do what he can, and let time heal him so he can get back out there.