tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post6499555430850733926..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: Vicarious trauma and lifting weightskatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-73967294172077354372011-05-17T21:03:45.600+12:002011-05-17T21:03:45.600+12:00Hey Anthea, yeah, awful example and good reminder....Hey Anthea, yeah, awful example and good reminder. My Mum would be in WAY better shape today if, instead of thinking she had to "exercise" in weight bearing ways, anyone at all had recognised swimming would be ideal for her back as she was great at it and it allowed her muscles to move without inflicting pain. Grr.<br /><br />Hey Moz, yeah, def agree about the benefits around mental health for exercise - and have similar experiences around cycling. I could NEVER have lived in London for 14 years if I'd not cycled, just too many people, too much traffic, too claustrophobic on public transport for me everyday.LudditeJournohttp://ludditejourno.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-50109006719074240642011-05-17T10:53:55.827+12:002011-05-17T10:53:55.827+12:00Thanks for the reminder. Most dramatically for me ...Thanks for the reminder. Most dramatically for me was one partner who found she could stop their anti-depressants if she exercised regularly (almost daily). Given the side-effects from the medication she was willing to put up with quite a lot to get the (aerobic) exercise fix.<br />I'm off my bike at the moment with a back injury and it has made me noticably more irritable. Partly from persistent pain, but the negative circles from losing both exercise and transport (I had forgotten how much freedom comes from a bicycle) I am still stuggling with.Moznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-86106761562727960352011-05-17T09:12:38.143+12:002011-05-17T09:12:38.143+12:00Thanks Luddsy - this is a really interesting and t...Thanks Luddsy - this is a really interesting and thoughtful post, and strikes a couple of notes for me. It's particularly interesting the observations about the link between physical balance and anxiety - I have a condition that results in very poor balance and impaired motor control, as well as limited spatial awareness, and I'm increasingly realising (and there has been some research on this) that the experience, particularly as a child, of not being able to know whether I'd fall over, or being able to judge distances or the speed of things coming towards me has had a huge impact on my anxiety levels.<br /><br />Thank you also for realising that your ability levels aren't everyone's. Whilst I can and do exercise in some forms, and find that has a positive impact on my mental health, I've had a godawful experience with a counsellor who decided that the way to respond to me telling her that a lot of the physical movements she suggested weren't really possible for me was to just repeat the same things preceeded with the word "if you can". Ugh. I'd caution anyone working in this type of setting to also remember that pushing disabled people (and you won't always know who is disabled) to exercise or move their bodies in particular ways can be a huge trigger, and have previously been used as a tool of abuse, so to tread with care.antheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05977317113072185299noreply@blogger.com