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I've found myself being very depressed lately; what can I do about this? I'm very overweight and I have chronic back pain.
Depression is caused by many things, but at a certain point the symptoms, causes and affects intertwine. If you have an organic depression (biochemical), you may be eating to alleviate the depression. Later, you look in the mirror and feel badly because you don't look like the models in the magazines. It becomes a vicious circle.
Back pain goes hand in hand with being overweight and your doctor may want you to loose weight before he tries other means to cure the pain. Within two weeks of no exercise, my lower back can be in such pain that I feel paralysed. For me, exercise and careful eating habits keep my depression and lower back pain in check.
Undealt with stress can also cause lower back pain in many people. The problem is when you feel too depressed to get up and exercise or even up to exercise. In that case you will want to consult your doctor for possible anti-depression medication to quick start you into an exercise/proper eating program. A good gym can give you a training program to strength your back and guide you toward a functioning body at a pace designed for your body and lifestyle. There are good eating programs like Prism, Weight Watchers and Weigh Down that put you into a support group with other women, so you learn what caused you to over-eat and you can learn other ways to self-nurture instead of over-eating. It takes work and support. Don't enter into this lightly. Let me know how it goes.
Dr. Ginger Gabriel, Ph.D., M.F.T., is an author and speaker as well as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. With Master of Arts degrees in counseling and missions and a Ph.D. in psychology, she has traveled to Asia, the Middle East and throughout North American giving her four-to fifteen-hour relationship and counseling skill-building seminars.
Her favorite pastimes are kayaking, quilting, hiking and reading novels. She is married to Dr. Stan Gabriel. They have three children and three grandchildren.