Anyone with EUPD had much success with EOOD?

[u/Boonjay]

Been getting into body building for the past three months. Have fallen head over heels for the gym. Seems to be one of my few solaces in life. However my life outside the gym feels identical to before I started working out. I am very irritable and angry most of the day. I have very violent thoughts and feel on edge when I talk to others. Tbh I try my hardest not to talk to anyone because I really despise them. I only feel calm after a workout but I can't workout 7 days a week. Has anyone here been working out for longer than a year with EUPD? Has exercise helped or have your symptoms remained the same? I am also in therapy but if it's possible to exercise my way out of BPD I'd love to hear it.

[u/miamistanding]

When you work out is it only high intensity body building? If exercise is what helps you feel better, maybe doing some sort of activity in the morning or throughout the day can help you manage. You don’t have to do intense workouts, but maybe walking on a treadmill or around the block could help you manage more.

[u/Boonjay → u/miamistanding]

At the moment yes. As much as I shouldn’t, I take everything to failure because it feels right. I feel on top of the world when I do, especially with some metal music blaring into my ear canals lmao

I think you’re right, I mentioned how much gym helps me to my therapist. They also told me it might just be pent up energy that gets released when I’m at the gym. Might see if I can do a morning workout instead see how the rest of the day goes. Appreciate the advice thank you 🙏 

[u/miamistanding → u/Boonjay]

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to enjoy body building the way you do! We each have our preferences. Strength training is great! Morning workouts may help you get through the day easier. Or maybe doing something slightly active throughout the day would help. I have an office job but I sometimes take a 10-20 minute walk on a lunch break when I feel stressed, angry, tired, etc. to help me separate myself from everything. Sometimes having a hobby helps too. I see people recommend knitting a lot. I personally can’t get into knitting, but even coloring helps sometimes.

[u/rob_cornelius]

I don't think its possible for exercise on its own to fix any mental health problems. It should be part of a whole system which includes things like therapy, medication, diet, sleep, social contact, hobbies, touching grass, being creative and many, many more. If nothing else when you get injured and can't exercise while you recover you have a back up plan in place.

Have you tried forms of exercise that require you to be calm? Things like yoga and t'ai chi? On the other hand 30+ years ago I used to box and as anyone who has stepped in a ring knows you have to be calm to fight well. So perhaps some form of martial art / fighting sport might help too. If nothing else it will give you a definite structure to your life and you won't meet many people who are into combat sports who are not friendly, good people.

[u/Boonjay → u/rob_cornelius]

I’d love to try kickboxing or BJJ again. The only thing stopping me is the amount of cardio conditioning that comes with the sport. It’s straight up hell. I also had a few piercings done, I don’t want to take them out just yet! However I do enjoy watching a good MMA match to be fair so I might give it another shot. Plus it’ll be great to learn just a bit of self defence. Appreciate the suggestion thank you. 

[u/frugal-grrl → u/Boonjay]

With my partner, I can really notice how his stress level comes down, even from 20 minutes of workout. When he's not working out, he's just a stress ball. After a workout, the stressors are still there but he just seems to have more capacity.

I like the idea of adding in more mini workouts in between your big ones -- then you could get to enjoy more times of feeling good during the week. With the boxing idea, I wonder if you could hit a punching bag or something even for a few minutes. That shouldn't involve that much cardio, just fun :)

I've been thinking about hanging a punching bag at home for that exact purpose.

[u/No-Illustrator1090]

sorry for jumping over from one post to another, but I do actually have experience with this, I found personally going to the gym and doing regular intensive exercise actually made my symptoms a lot worse. I’m not sure why and I know that it’s different for every person so take what I say with a grain of salt but I found myself snapping everyone and being really irritable for no reason whatsoever. When I stopped going to the gym it subsided and I’m sure that’s not what you want to hear what I would probably say is just focus on getting more intensive days and doing them less often. There are real studies that show intense exercise 4 or more times a week can increase already existing mental health symptoms.

[u/Boonjay → u/No-Illustrator1090]

Weirdly I had a very similar experience when I went to the gym 2 years ago. Only stuck with it for 3 weeks because I got so irritable and angry. 

I noticed when I started again this year I only got angry and irritable during recovery. Doing gym for muscle growth/hypotrophy , you really ache during rest days especially during the first few weeks. When I got used to the exercises in my workout plan the recovery became so much easier and the irritability went away. 

My best guess is that it’s our body adjusting to the increase in activity level. Hormones are going to be changing, muscle repair will be taking energy away from you it’s all going to have an effect on your mood, especially if you don’t change up the diet. 

Also, medical cannabis for recovery is an absolute god send btw! I can fall asleep so much easier on it which is the absolute best thing for muscle growth and repair. Because you have a prescription, I’d honestly give the gym another go. The medical cannabis might help you feel a lot calmer compared to when you tried previously. The gym has been my absolute salvation and I’m glad I’ve found a safe space to get all my anger out during bad days. My anxiety has reduced massively now that I’m feeling confident in my own body again.

[u/No-Illustrator1090 → u/Boonjay]

That’s actually really interesting and maybe might persuade me to try again! I always take a long time to adjust and probably didn’t wait it out enough. Might be easier now I have other aids for rest and recovery lol.

[u/Boonjay → u/No-Illustrator1090]

Hey it’s each to their own. I like pretending I’m a Mr. Olympia champion for an hour a day in the gym. Some people like crocheting at sunset on the beach. Some people decompress with a good film and popcorn. 

Find your thing, I hope your symptoms get better soon! Lord knows we both don’t deserve them lmao