This post may contain affiliate links, please read our full disclosures here.

This post was originally written on October 5, 2016.

How running saved my life!

Please allow me to begin by stating a few facts. I’m an ordinary guy, with an ordinary marriage, who happens to be 35 years old. This post is my first attempt at blogging and I shall be as honest as possible.

In 2012 I decided to run a 5K race out of sheer desperation. I was familiar with running as part of my job but I was not in a running regimen or program. I had just returned from my Afghanistan deployment which happened to be my second deployment and I was experiencing some mental effects. This is not a pity story or a chance to draw attention to myself, this is a post about how running saved me from a very serious mental problem. How running empowered me to become fit, and live a healthy fully functional life. A thriving life.

Upon return from my tour in Afghanistan I felt strange, detached, cold and unable to connect with my family. I felt little joy and had no desire to do the things I used to do. I was sleeping very poorly and having recurring dreams. I was taking medication for depression but I found no relief. My thoughts were becoming darker and darker. I felt an unshakable feeling of guilt that I had returned without a scratch while my friends perished by the hand of buried improvised explosive devices. I was diagnosed with that stigmatic abbreviation: PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). I decided that I would not be medicated for the rest of my life so I simply stopped taking the meds. I should say that this decision was not at all recommended by my doctor nor do I suggest you do such a thing. But in my mind, I did not believe at the time that I would be around much longer for it to matter. (If you are reading this and need assistance please contact someone. A great resource for Military personnel is militaryonesource.mil or phone 800-342-9647. Suicide prevention lifeline @ 1800-273-8255. It is ok to ask for help. You can even contact us at SophiaJamesEducation.com, SJE is always willing to help you!)

It was at this point that I turned to running. The goal was simple, run as much as I could to get tired and sleep at night. I found that while running my thoughts would drift. I would look at nature and feel the sun and wind. I found that I would focus on my breathing and the steady cadence of my feet. I found that I began to feel my body’s own hormones, endorphins, and chemistry begin to uplift my mental state. I began to feel elated and I began to forget my loss of appetite for living. Before long my two-mile runs became three miles, then four then five. Somehow the longer I ran the better I felt mentally. Of course, I was physically tired and took the proper steps to stretch, eat well and recover. I got to the point where after a run I would do little else but think about the next time I could run again.

Then I signed up for a race. A 5K race is only 3.1 miles (3.106 to be exact) and can be completed well under an hour. I found it to be a perfect race length for a beginning runner. Its just challenging enough for a beginner and yet not so long as to result in injury. On race day I felt as energized as if I was going out on patrol during deployment. I didn’t know any runners but it didn’t matter everyone looked like a friend. I began the race somewhat faster than usual and quickly realized it was my excitement. I slowed to a sustainable pace and finished my first 5K at 22:36. I didn’t earn any winner medals, I didn’t receive a trophy. What I received was a future. I felt better that day than any other day since returning home. I could not wait to sign up for another race. I also found a group of runners at the installation I was working in. I was very excited when I found an organization that sponsored runs and other physical activities called Team RWB (Team Red-White-and Blue) and quickly joined them for support.

Today I have finished multiple races ranging from 5K to 26.1 miles. I have run over 1000 miles since 2012. My times have improved and even if they had not, my life has improved.

There is plenty of bad press about PTSD, there are plenty of bad examples and horrible life stories. I chose to focus on something that would improve my mental health and my physical health at the same time. The decision to run was intentional and deliberate.

You might wonder where the motivation comes from. Motivation comes from discipline. You decide to do something and you start doing it and somehow you start to feel more motivated to do it. Motivation is nothing but a feeling and feelings are very fleeting subjects. Discipline will get you moving towards your goal well before motivation does. Master one and the other will follow.

I certainly did not “feel” like running every day, but I told myself I would and I did. Once I settled on being disciplined in this goal, the motivation came as a by-product.

Nothing worth having is free and certainly physical fitness. My objective here is to tell you that you can achieve what you set out to by focusing on two things. First: set a goal (you can read more about goals and download a tracker Live Well PDF Goal Setting). Make it a clear objective that has a timeline in which you want to achieve it.

Second: be disciplined. Make notes and leave them posted throughout the house, the refrigerator door, and the best location is the bathroom mirror. Set multiple alarms on your phone and label them. Write reminders on your calendar. Tell your friends to call you out when you miss a training run. Do what you must, but do something.

My life has been greatly enhanced by running. My family life is much better. I no longer medicate and I sleep better now than before my deployments. I am an ordinary guy, who is 35 years old and I run 5 miles every day. I have PTSD and PTSD does not have me.

By Wes.

Together we can achieve more.

PS: This is my first post. Feel free to critique, comment, criticize, object and make suggestions. I hope this will empower you. Get after it!!

Remember Sophia James Education hopes to promote a healthy life through the Live Well Series, we hope that you learn a lot through the Learn Lots Series and that you travel the world through the Travel the World Series.
A fantastic story awaits you right around the corner.