That feeling when vacation ends and you have to return to normal life..I don’t know about you, but I always feel filled with anxiety and mild sadness. Usually within the first 15 mins back to work, it feels like I never left and the anxiety diminishes. Anxiety is an interesting thing, it’s built within our CNS as a fight or flight mechanism and it serves a valuable purpose, to keep us safe. Often times our fight/flight zone of the brain will misperceive threats causing anxiety to occur over things that are not truly safety issues. For example, walking into a gym after taking off for a few months.
I’m sure we’ve all had this feeling at some point in our lives. It’s a shared experience to which we can all relate. When I had my double mastectomy and was out of work for 5 weeks, I had terrible anxiety about returning. I hadn’t seen my coworkers or the kids I serve for over a month and I was completely overwhelmed with the thought of seeing everyone for the first time. I was feeling especially vulnerable because my job can be challenging at times physically. After my surgery, I was in no condition to be able to manage aggressive or unsafe clients. Needless to say, I had a ton of anxiety about returning. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to avoid returning to work, it was a necessity.
I’ve learned over the years that the best way to manage anxiety is to face it. This is the best thing we can do to conquer it, especially when that fight or flight system is sending false alarms! The gym is no different. There are times that life throws us a curve ball and we are absent from working out for a few weeks or even a few months. After such a prolonged break from fitness, anxiety may arise about returning and that’s perfectly normal and quite common. I’m writing this to tell you it’s ok and it’s a shared experience.
At Bellum, we are here to support you and help you work through any anxieties about returning to the gym. If you’re someone who has taken a lengthy break and are having some worries about returning, know that we understand and we encourage you to face those fears and overcome them. The bottom line, we want to see you back at the gym working towards your goals! Reach out to us if you need some assistance getting started. We all need to have someone looking out for us. Remember, growth lies past the comfort zone, so push yourself, and you shall grow.
Best,
Dr. AP
“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” — Georgia O’Keeffe
